Research For Development2013

RESEARCH FOR DEVELOPMENT 2013
Principals
Message
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THE CARIBBEAN INSTITUTE OF MEDIA & COMMUNICATION
Livingston White, Maria Protz

& Olivia Bravo
Climate Change
Knowledge, Attitude
and Behavioural
Practice
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In May 2009, Jamaica accepted an offer by the

Sub-Committee of the Pilot Programme for Climate
Resilience (PPCR) to participate as one of six countries
in a Caribbean pilot programme. One of the thematic
areas of the PPCR was climate change education
and awareness. The studys objective was to update
the information base on the knowledge, attitudes
and practices regarding climate change among
Jamaicans.
declared that their actions worsen the impact of

climate change on their communities. These actions
included improper waste disposal such as burning
garbage, deforestation and increased energy use.
A mix of quantitative and qualitative methods was

employed. A national survey of Jamaican households
collected data from 1484 respondents. The online
version had 503 persons completing the survey.
The sector survey targeted six sectors: Agriculture;
Construction; Energy; Health; Tourism; and
Water and 276 organisations completed the
interviews. The qualitative component utilised ten
focus groups: six sectoral focus group discussions
and four community sessions. The data collection
occurred July 7 to 18, 2012.
Knowledge of Climate Change: Online respondents

(94.2%) stated that they had heard the term
climate change. About 73.5% described climate
change as variation in global climate, temperature
or weather patterns.
Knowledge of Climate Change: Most persons

(82.6%) have heard the term climate change.
The main theme from respondents explanation of
climate change was that it was a variation in global
climate, temperature or weather patterns (about
56.4%).
Attitudes to Climate Change: About half (49.5%) of
the respondents were very concerned about climate
change with another 31.2% being moderately
concerned; 14.1% were not concerned at all. Many
persons were either very interested (60.0%) or
somewhat interested (30.2%) in finding out more
about the effect of climate change on Jamaica.
Practices regarding Climate Change: Respondents
Media Usage: Persons obtained their information

on climate change from television (80.1%), radio
(57.7%), newspaper (37.3%), the Internet (22.5%),
schools (17.2%) and friends or family (16.4%).
Attitudes to Climate Change: Over 90 % of the

online respondents were either very concerned
(44.8%) or moderately concerned (48.7%) about
climate change. Regarding level of interest in
finding out more about the impact of climate
change on Jamaica, many persons online were
either very interested (45.7%) or somewhat
interested (47.9%).
Practices regarding Climate Change:
Almost one-third, 32.4% of the
respondents, reported that they
did nothing to worsen the
effect of climate change on
their community. Other
responses were use of
fuel that depletes
the ozone
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layer (7.3%), increased consumption of energy
(6.1%) and improper waste disposal (6.1%).
Media Usage: Online respondents reported that
they occasionally (43.7%) or infrequently (34.1%)
read, listened, or watched stories on climate change.
Most sector participants represented agriculture
(25.7%) and tourism (23.2%). More private sector
organisations (68.6%) completed the survey
than public sector entities (25.8%); about 6%
of respondents represented non-governmental
organisations or considered themselves quasi-public
sector.
Knowledge of Climate
Change:
Ninety-seven
per cent (97.4%) of
respondents had heard
of climate change. ,
Many noted that it related
to variation in climate
globally, temperature or
weather patterns.
Attitudes to Climate
Change:
Most
organisations
felt
that climate change
adaptation and mitigation initiatives were very
important (51.7%) or important (24.4%) to their
organisation. A fairly large number also felt that
climate change adaptation and mitigation were very
immediate to their organisation (38.3%), to their
sector (50.6%) and to Jamaica (53.9%).
Practices regarding Climate Change: About twothirds of the respondents (68%) stated that their
organisation had a role to play in managing the
likely effects of climate change on Jamaica. For those

organisations to play a role in managing climate
change, several actions were described: educating
and informing the public on climate change
(18.8%); ensuring environmentally-friendly practices
(14.8%); research and development of alternative
energy (9.4%); and waste management (9.0%).
Media Usage: Most organisations (66.7%) got
their information from websites. Others received
information from newspapers (55.1%); television
(53.6%) and radio (50.7%).
Community Focus Group Discussions: There was
a substantially high
level of understanding
of climate change
and reasons for its
existence.
While
not necessarily using
scientific terminology,
across all groups,
people
explained
climate change as
changes
in
the
weather pattern and
seasons over time.
There were strong
feelings and attitudes
with respect to how willing Jamaicans would be to
prepare for climate change. Some of the attitudes
that would hinder readiness included the desire for
large concrete block structures that many people
cannot afford, but want in order to have social status;
disregard for the building code which extends across
all levels and classes of society; a single-minded
mentality that prevents greater community spirit and
cooperation; and a belief that alternatives are not
really viable.
Sectoral Focus Group Discussions:

Participants indicated that climate
change would bring, for example,
an increased urgency for energy
and water conservation solutions
and technologies; new business
opportunities for the private sector
new niche markets for goods
and services; greater innovation
and creativity to address solutions
and greater public awareness and
attention to the work that agencies
are doing. Sector representatives
noted that the most important
adaptation
and
mitigation
strategies for the next five years
should involve climate smart
agriculture that includes energy
and water conservation, safe pest
management; community auditing,
data collection and monitoring and
increased public awareness across
all sectors.
Overall, this study supported the
need for an increase in public
education and awareness activities
as respondents from the various
samples made suggestions about
increasing
activities
carefully
designed to make Jamaicans more
aware of climate change issues.
Future
communication-based
interventions will have to move
beyond merely sharing information
and spreading awareness, and
focus on promoting specific
behaviours that are feasible for most
of the population to implement.
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This study was conducted by CARIMAC on behalf of
the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) under the
project Pilot Programme for Climate Resilience.
The Research Team
Lead Investigators: Livingston A. White, PhD and
Maria Protz, PhD
Project Manager: Olivia Bravo
Dr Livingston White is a lecturer at the Caribbean
Institute of Media and Communication (CARIMAC)
at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus
in Kingston, Jamaica where he teaches courses at
the undergraduate and graduate levels in Social
Marketing, Communication Analysis and Planning, and
Communication Research Methods. More recently, he
conducted various message recall surveys to evaluate
health campaigns both in Jamaica and across the
Caribbean region as well as led a team to complete this
Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices study on climate
change in Jamaica for Jamaicas Pilot Programme for
Climate Resilience (PPCR).
Dr Maria Protz is a Communication for Development
(C4D) specialist with a Ph.D. from the University of
Reading, U.K, and has taught Communication Analysis
and Planning at the graduate level as part of CARIMACs
behaviour change communication programme. As
a consultant, she has worked extensively throughout
the English Speaking Caribbean and most recently
prepared the National Communication Strategy and
Action Plan for Jamaicas Pilot Programme for Climate
Resilience (PPCR).
National Household Survey Fieldworkers: Attalia
Harriman, Ava-Gayle James, Bobby Morgan, Carolyn
Williams, Chinyere Roberts, Clovis Bryan (Supervisor),
Crystal Blake, Crystal Hylton (Supervisor), Dale

Powell, Damali Spence, Daneille Clarke (Supervisor),
Darrel Garwood, Delaine Fraser, Dean Danverse,
Detroy Gooden, Elesean Gordon, Gayon Gray,
Haleen Robinson, Jamelia Currie, Jermaine Young,
Jordan Samuels, Judene Williams, Karen Pancham,
Kaycia White, Kimberley McLeod, Lauri-Ann Uylett,
Laviele Shelton, Leroy Chambers, Loi Simpson, LoriAnn Lloyd (Supervisor), Marion Carter (Supervisor),
Marvel Gordon, Melisa Johnson, Mercedes Frazer,
Michelan Wilson, Mickha McCreath, Nadine Watson
(Supervisor), Nashan Miller, Naveern Harrow, Nicardo
McInnis (Supervisor), Nigel Nelson (Supervisor), Nikolai
Alexander (Supervisor), Nora Beverley Watson, Ollyvia
Anderson (Supervisor), Otis Codling, Pavain Anderson,
Randain Matthews, Rashika Powell, Renae Thompson,
Romell Newby, Shawnae Burrell (Supervisor), Shelleka
Powell, Sherry-Ann Andrews, Stacy-Ann Smith, Stefan
Reid, Tameka Gordon (Supervisor), Tanique Thompson,
Tatiana Answer, Thaliva Nephew, Tonesha SmithThompson (Supervisor), Toni-Ann Duffus, Trecha
Benneth-Miller, Treshan Burrell, Vanessa Evans,
Wayne Dennis
Sector Survey Telephone Interviewers:

Charles Frost, Chinyere Roberts
(Supervisor), Crystal Hylton, Jermaine
Young, Keadia Sparkes, Clovis Bryan,
Leo Harvey, Maryam Rahaman,
Nicardo McInnis, Ron-cey Kirkland,
Rodesh Woollery, Shiobhan Dillon,
Tina Griffiths
Data Entry Clerks: Alex Narcisse,
Brandon Barnes, Candice Anderson,
Charles Frost Crystal Hylton, Daniel
Brown, Donald King, Jermaine Young,
Joshua Khouri, Julia Hall, Kamara
Lambert, Leo Harvey, Leslie-Ann
McDowell, Lloni Anderson, Maryam
Rahaman, Melisa Johnson, Nicardo
McInnis, Nicola Roberts, Rodesh
Woollery, Samantha Dadd, Shauna
Kay James, Sherry-Ann Andrews
(Supervisor), Tina Griffiths, Toni-Ann
Duffus, Toni-Ann Lindsay-Brown,
Vanessa Evans
Focus Group Moderators: Anthea
Henderson, Maria Protz, Rosamond
Brown
Focus Group Note Takers: Abigail
Wood, Novia McKay, Shauna Rowe
Technical Support Staff: Alistaire
McClaren, Corinne Barnes, PhD, Craig
Duhaney, Jacqueline Atkins, Joseph
Martin, Marco Thompson
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONAL STUDIES
Susan
Anderson
In Search of Excellence:
Educational Barriers, Opportunities
and Experiences of Jamaican
Students with Disabilities
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F A C U L T Y
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FACULTY OF LAW
Derrick
McKoy
Leaving the Matrix: Moving from the

Perception of Corruption to Transparency in
Commonwealth Caribbean Public
Procurement
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Leaving the Matrix: Moving from the perception

of corruption to transparency in commonwealth
Caribbean public procurement investigates the
corruption perception methodology that has
dominated corruption studies for the last 15 years
and argues that the methodology is misleading.
The study seeks to show that corruption perception
is not a useful method of investigation and draws
up on the notorious experiences of corruption
in a developed country, the United Kingdom,
which is not perceived or regarded as corrupt.
The work seeks to introduce a more nuanced
approach to corruption, governance and ethics
into contemporary investigations of public sector
corruption and argues for greater oversight,
transparency and provisions for whistle blowing
legislation as necessary parts of the anticorruption
strategies. The work emphasises transparency as
the most cost-effective anticorruption measure,
especially in developing countries.
the perception approach to a disconfirmation

approach in corruption studies will allow for a
useful and effective index of the successes of
various anticorruption methodologies, as well as
providing a real measure of whether particular
anticorruption programmes are working.
Public sector policy makers and administrators

need effective tools to combat corruption as a part
of the anticorruption project. Without these tools,
public goods and services will be dissipated by the
dysfunction that corruption necessitates. This work
seeks to meet the need for more efficient tools for
the anticorruption struggle, beginning with more
insightful and effective assessment of corruption,
and not just rely on the politically charged responses
that come from uninformed perceptions.
This approach to the anticorruption study is

particularly useful to the international aid
community, as well as local public sector
agencies. It will also be useful to the private
sector, especially those segments that
interact with state agencies. Interested
parties should include the OAS,
IDB, Commonwealth Secretariat,
Caribbean Community Secretariat,
the Commonwealth Public
Procurement
Network,
Caribbean Procurement
Institute, and the
C a r i b b e a n
Association of
Transferring from perception of corruption to

some measure of actual corruption represents
a fundamental departure from the current and
dominant approaches. This work introduces the
challenge of discovering suitable instruments
to measure corruption and suggests that the
disconfirmation paradigm which is popular in service
quality studies may be modified for application
to corruption studies. The benefits of
this approach will be significant.
The
replacement
of
At the current time, development agencies have

taken to using corruption perception indices,
such as the Transparency Internationals CPI, to
guide and assist in granting of development aid.
Yet no country at its own initiative can change
its position on the CPI. A disconfirmation index
will provide a measure of the effectiveness of
state action over time, which is something the
perception methodology cannot do. If the
disconfirmation approach is used in guiding the
grant of development aid, the impact could be
quite significant. Certainly, it would change the
development aid profile from what now prevails.
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Procurement Professionals. The work
received favourable response when
the ideas were first presented at CPPC
2010 under the conference theme
Leveraging Strategic Procurement
to Achieve Best Value, Effective
Governance
and
Responsible
Development and these ideas are
also represented in (2011) 20 Public
Procurement Law Review, 137-56.
Dr Derrick McKoy is the Dean of the
Faculty of Law, University of the West
Indies, Mona. He holds a doctorate
(PhD) in Law from the University
of Leicester, a doctorate (DBA) in
Business Administration from Nova
Southeastern University, an LLM in
International and Comparative Law
from University College of London,
the MBA from Barry University, and
the LLB from the University of the
West Indies. He is also a graduate of
the Norman Manley Law School. He
was a Commonwealth Scholar. He
was Contractor-General of Jamaica
from 1998 to 2005, and served
as Chairman of the Fair Trading
Commission and the Antidumping
and Subsidies Commission in Jamaica.
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FACULTY OF LAW
Natalie Corthesy &

Carla-Anne Harris Roper
Employment and Labour

Law in the Commonwealth
Caribbean
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The CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME)

has provided Caribbean countries with a unique
opportunity to open and expand their labour
markets. It is anticipated that the free movement
of workers across the Caribbean will positively
impact national development of individual
member States and ultimately result in economic
growth. Access to accurate information regarding
the numerous labour laws that comprise this
legal framework will promote understanding of
the points of divergence and convergence. The
forthcoming book Commonwealth Caribbean
Employment and Labour Law will meet the need
for material on the legal standards and applicable
practices of labour markets in the region.
The book will highlight how the obligations
undertaken by CARICOM governments have
created opportunities and challenges for their
nationals who have sought to take advantage
of this new labour market platform. It will also
heighten awareness of the prospective benefits
to be derived from a regional labour frontier
without boundaries.
As such, the publication is intended to provide
details on current legal principles regarding a
wide-range of employment and labour law issues
affecting the Commonwealth Caribbean. It is
designed to heighten the readers awareness and
understanding of the increasing importance of
this evolving area of jurisprudence. Employment
and labour laws role in the development of the
regions human and social capital is pivotal since
it touches and concerns virtually
the
entire
working
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population. The tome is envisioned primarily as

an academic work, which concurrently provides
human resource management professionals,
trade unionists, legal practitioners and the
judiciary with a comprehensive reference point
outlining essential ideologies which represent
the foundations of current employment and
labour law practice.
The book commences with a historical panorama
of the subject. It outlines the challenges faced
by the region in developing labour law and the
actions taken by legislators and the judiciary
to address these circumstances. It undertakes
a comparative exploration of current legal
principles across the Caribbean by examining
relevant statutes, case law and scholarly
works. The areas covered include sources of
labour law, the establishment and terms of
employment contracts, dismissal in all its
facets, collective employment relations
and industrial action.
It also discusses new and
emerging issues within the
field, including provisions
for HIV in the workplace,
data protection and
the use of bio
data in the
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workplace, implementation of whistleblowing
legislation and the use of social media in the
workplace.
Employment and labour law in the Caribbean
has been forged by legislation and refined by
the decisions of industrial tribunals and courts.
Developments have evolved spontaneously
in response to economic and socio-political
demands, with little emphasis being placed on
academic study. Consequently, there are only
a few books that exist. Not only are these titles
dated, but they deal
largely with individual
jurisdictions and are
restricted to discussions
on specific areas of
the discipline such as
industrial
relations.
Further, strict legal
principles were only
addressed
obliquely
where
convergence
with
other
focus
areas
required.
There is currently no
comparable publication in this area, covering
in one complete volume the vicissitudes of
employment and labour law in the region. Thus
the book fills an obvious void while supporting
regional jurisprudential development as it extends
its coverage to the Caribbean Court of Justice.
The impact of the book is expected to be
significant. Not only will it supply a reference
on Commonwealth Caribbean employment

and labour law principles, it will also provide
a compendium of relevant cases from each
jurisdiction as well as excerpts of individual
countrys legislation. It will assist the growing
number of university students, legal practitioners
and adjudicators of cases in this field with
current and credible information which can be
used to advise the members of the public and in
particular, employers and employees, about their
rights and obligations under the law. It will also
serve as a catalyst for further development of the
area by stimulating
discussion
in
member
States
about the issues
unearthed,
and
possibly fast track the
CARICOM objective
of
harmonizing
labour
legislation
by bringing the
similarities
and
differences
across
countries to the fore.
It may potentially
inspire solutions on how to realize legislative
cohesion and advance regional integration,
which is imperative for the future development
of the Caribbean.
Mrs Natalie Corthsy is a

Lecturer in the Faculty of Law,
University of the West Indies,
Mona Campus and is an Attorneyat-Law qualified to practice in
Jamaica. She is a graduate of the
UWI and the Norman Manley Law
School and she holds a masters
degree in Intellectual Property
Law from the University College
of London, England.
Mrs Carla-Anne Harris Roper
is a Part-Time Lecturer in the
Mona School of Business and
Management, University of the
West Indies, Mona Campus and
is an Attorney-at-Law qualified
to practice in Jamaica. She is a
graduate of the UWI and the
Norman Manley Law School
and she holds a masters degree
in Employment Law from the
University East Anglia, England.
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FACULTY OF LAW
Susan
Ffolkes-Goldson
The Transformation of Corporate Social

Responsibility into Legal Responsibility
Insolvency Law: Balancing the Interests
of Creditors and Debtors
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DEPARTMENT OF CHILD HEALTH
Minerva
Thame
Infant Feeding Practices and

Resultant Growth Patterns in
Jamaican Children Assessed
by Anthropometry and Body
Composition
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Jamaica has made great strides in its provision

of health care. This has resulted in a significant
transition from a period when infectious
diseases were the major cause of death to
present, when non-communicable diseases,
such as diabetes and heart disease are major
health problems. There are many predisposing
factors contributing to these non-communicable
diseases many of which are associated with life
style such as smoking, drinking, lack of physical
activity, stress and poor diet leading to obesity.
Another predisposing factor associated with
non-communicable diseases has been further
explained by the Developmental Origins of Adult
Disease. This relatively new and interesting theory
which has been explored and developed over
the last few decades recognised the relationship
between birth size, the infants rate of growth in
the first two year of life and the risk of developing
disease in later life. This Developmental Origins
of Adult Disease hypothesis is often called the
Barker Hypothesis.
The first 1,000 days, from conception to the
first two years of life has been referred to as the
Window of Opportunity and is a period which
is thought to influence the eventual health of
a person if adequate nutrition is given. Proper
nutrition within this period will enhance the
infants physical, developmental and intellectual
potential. With improved cognitive function these
infant will be able to acquire a better education,
to receive a higher income and reduce the risk
of poverty. These first 1,000 days will therefore
have a positive effect on society by ensuring long
term health and improved quality of life.
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Nutrition is an important aspect of health but

often it is not accorded its rightful prominence. In
the developing world, of which Jamaica is a part,
many women in the reproductive age have poor
diets, which are imbalanced in macronutrients
and deficient in micronutrients.
Many of
these women are chronically malnourished.
Nutritional deficiency in pregnancy results in
babies with birth weights which are low or at
the lower end of normal. Under nutrition is still
very prevalent worldwide and a leading cause
of death in infants throughout the world. The
consequences of under nutrition can be severe,
often irreversible, and have long term effects in
children.
An infants growth is best monitored by his weight
and rate of weight gain. The use of growth charts
help track weight along centile lines and alerts
health care workers of deviation from normal
growth rate. However, it is becoming more
evident that absolute weight or gain in
weight is less important than the quality
of weight. This rarely-assessed quality
of weight has led to the recognition
of body composition.
Body
composition is the percentage
of fat, muscle, and bone in
the body. Weight can be
broken down into fatfree mass (lean
mass)
and
fat mass.
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Lean mass refers to tissue other than fat. Studies
have shown that individuals can have the same
weight but their fat mass, lean body mass can be
very different.
Early infant feeding practices are very important
in determining the long-term body compositions
of individuals. The WHO recommends exclusive
breast feeding for the first six month of life. The
initiation of breast feeding is high (98%) in Jamaica,
but rates decrease dramatically to as low as 48 %
by six weeks. The introduction of formula feeding
to the infant therefore commences very early and
the best quality of feed
is lost. Infants who are
formula fed are heavier
than infants who are
exclusively breast fed.
Culturally the heavier
baby is the more
desirable but bigger is
not necessarily better.
This study at the
University
of
the
West Indies is in the
embryonic stages in
exploring infant feeding
practices. Its aim is to compare the resultant
growth patterns, assessed by anthropometry
and body composition, in breast- and formulafed Jamaican children. This is a prospective,
longitudinal study of children from birth to 24
months. Mother-infant pairs will be invited to
join the study from the post natal ward of the
University Hospital of the West Indies. First time
mothers will be invited once they have no known
medical illnesses, are non-smokers and delivered

a healthy singleton infant. Mother-infant pairs
with infants who are full term, appropriate for
gestational age and preterm infants 28 - 36
weeks gestation will be recruited.
Birth weight, crown heel length, head
circumference, mid arm circumference and
skin fold thickness (biceps, triceps, subscapular,
suprailiac) will be done on the infants at birth
and repeated at 6 weeks, 4, 6, 9, 12, 18 and 24
months. At the six week post natal visit, an infant
feeding history will be taken when information
about breast feeding
frequency, use of
formula feeds, juices,
water and solids will
be obtained. Based
on this information
the
mother-infant
pairs in each category
will be assigned to
either the exclusively
breast feeding or
predominantly
formula
feeding
group based on their
gestational age. At
four months, a food frequency questionnaire will
be administered and subsequently repeated at 6,
9, 12, 18 and 24 months.
Body composition of the infant will be determined
using the deuterium dilution technique at 4, 6,
12, 18 and 24 months which entails administering
of a dose of deuterium labelled water which is a
stable isotope and will be administered at least
two hours after the last feed. A

baseline saliva sample will be
taken and repeat saliva samples
will be taken at 3 and at 4 hours
after the administered dose. The
enrichment of deuterium in saliva
samples will be measured by FTIR
spectrometry which will produce
the body composition of the
infant.
Professor Minerva Thame
is a Professor of Perinatal
and Paediatric Medicine and
Consultant Paediatrician in
the Department of Child and
Adolescent Health at the
University of the West Indies/
University Hospital of the West
Indies, Mona.
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DEPARTMENT OF CHILD AND ADOLESCENT HEALTH
Maureen Samms-Vaughn, Twana Dinnall,

Charlene Coore-Desai, Jody Reece &
Sydonnie Shakespeare-Pellington
Review of the Status of Early Childhood

Development in Jamaica
Evaluation of the Current Status of Maternal,
Paternal, Newborn and Infant Health and Well-Being
and the Impact of these on National Child Health and
Development: The JAKIDS Birth Cohort Study.
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The impact of early childhood development (ECD)

on the future of a nation is now an accepted fact.
Biological evidence highlighting the importance
of brain development in the early years has been
supported by extensive research, which has
demonstrated the tremendous impact of high
quality ECD interventions on social and academic
outcomes of children in the short-term, and adult
educational achievement and social functioning
in the long-term.
Jamaica has had a strong record of achievement
in the early childhood sector. Over the years these
have included high access to early childhood
institutions (95% of children 3 to 6 years are
in school) and high immunization rates (95%
of children are immunized). More recently, in
2003, Jamaica was recognized for the passage
of legislation establishing a national body to
advance ECD, the Early Childhood Commission.
Between 2008 and 2013, Jamaica developed
and implemented the first cross-sectoral National
Strategic Plan for ECD. Despite these, there are
recognised challenges in the sector, including
the absence of information on the status of the
environments of children birth to three years and
the variation in quality of early childhood centres
for children three to six years.
In 2012, as Jamaica attains the significant historical
milestone of its 50th year of independence, it
was considered important to objectively evaluate
the current status of ECD in Jamaica. Such an
evaluation would identify the areas in which
achievements have been significant, but probably
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more importantly, would identify the areas that

required further attention to ensure further
advancement of ECD in the years to come.
Two areas were considered for review: legislation
passed over the years and the effectiveness of
implementation of legislation, programmes,
policies and plans to support and promote
young childrens development. The latter was
measured by administrative data on the status
of young children from Government of Jamaica
ministries departments and agencies. This article
reports on data from the Ministries of Health and
Education, the Early Childhood Commission,
the Office of the Childrens Registry and the
JAMSTATS database from the Planning Institute
of Jamaica. Information was analysed using the
four categories of rights recognised under the
Convention of the Rights of the Child: Survival
Rights, Development Rights, Protection Rights
and Participation Rights.
Jamaica has passed a number of laws
to support and protect young children
in past and recent years. Among
the early laws passed were the
Education Act (1965), Status of
Children Act (1976) and
ratification of the UN
Convention on the
Rights of the Child
(1991). More
re c e n t l y
39
40
there has been the Early Childhood Commission
Act (2003), The Child Care and Protection
Act (2004) and the Early Childhood Act and
Regulations (2005).
Survival Rights include the rights to life, health care
and basic amenities required for survival. The main
international indicators of child survival are infant
and under-five mortality rates. Infant mortality
measures death rates in children under the age
of one year and under-five mortality measures
death rates in children under 5 years. Both rates
fell most significantly between 1960 and 1980,
but have continued
to fall at a slower rate
subsequently
Development
Rights
include the rights to
name and nationality,
education, family and
play. Jamaican childrens
access to a name and
nationality
is
near
universal, with birth
registration rates above
95% in Jamaica since
the 1990s. Access to
basic education for young children at pre-primary
and primary levels has also been near universal
for many years. However, there are recognised
challenges in education quality as measured by
the low proportion of trained teachers at preprimary centres (25%), the inequity in distribution
of the few trained teachers, as well as the results
of standardized performance tests at the primary
level. While the Grade 4 Literacy Test has shown
improvement over the years, with pass rates of

57% at its first sitting in 2003 and 72% at the
most recent sitting in 2012, the absolute pass
rate indicates that only three of four children are
achieving adequate scores.
Very young children require stimulation at the
youngest ages when brain development is most
rapid. Yet, less than a half of children overall
had books or other developmentally stimulating
materials in their homes, and few parents spent
time playing and interacting with very young
children, as reported in the Jamaican Survey of
Living
Conditions
2008 and 2010.
Additional challenges
in meeting young
childrens
development
rights are found in
family support and
structure and play
and
stimulation.
Jamaican
children
must adapt frequently
to changing family
circumstances. The
majority (86%) are born into common-law or
visiting relationships, with only 15% born in
married unions. Visiting unions end by the time
most children are about 6 years old; commonlaw unions last somewhat longer, but also
deteriorate with time
Protection Rights include protection from
abuse, neglect, discrimination and exploitation.
Jamaican children are exposed

to exceptionally high levels
of violence. Almost 70% of 6
years old witness fighting in
their communities and almost
40% see dead bodies as a result
of violence. The Office of the
Childrens Registry has received
annual reports of 6,000 to 7,000
child victims of abuse or neglect
since 2009.
Participation Rights include the
rights to be heard, to have access
to information and to participate
in groups.
Older Jamaican
children actively participate in
the Youth Parliament and are
members of advisory committees
of relevant government agencies,
such as the Child Development
Agency. However information
on participation of younger
children is not available, and even
for older children, there is limited
information on participation on a
population basis.
Overall, Jamaica has made
much progress in the passage
of legislation to support the
rights of children. There has also
been significant progress in child
survival and in specific aspects
of development, particularly
access to name, nationality and
formal education.
However
41
greater investment needs to be made
in educational quality, beginning with
stimulation and development activities
prior to school entry and ensuring quality
at schools. There has been much less
success in protection and participation
rights. Legislation has been important
but not sufficient to ensure childrens
well- being. For the next 50 years,
more attention needs to be paid to the
implementation of legislation, and to
addressing development, protection
and participation rights. The information
from this research project, which was
funded by UNESCO, will be used to
guide national plans and programmes,
and specifically the development of
further strategic plans for ECD. Similar
analysis across the region could be used
to guide CARICOM activities to advance
ECD in the region.
Evaluation of the Current Status of
Maternal, Paternal, Newborn and
Infant Health and Well-Being and
the Impact of these on National
Child Health and Development: The
JAKIDS Birth Cohort Study.
Newborn and maternal health and wellbeing have been widely recognised as
critical for improving the health of a
nation. The Economist, in its The World
in 2013 edition published in December
2012 highlighted the importance of
reducing newborn deaths.
The first two of the five health priorities for the

future identified by the Lancet, one of the most
highly read and regarded medical journals, in
its December 1, 2012 editorial, were womens
health and education, particularly because of
the impact in reducing death rates in young
children, and early childhood development. The
eight Millennium Development Goals agreed to
by the United Nations to be achieved by 2015
include reducing the under 5 mortality rate
(U5MR) by two-thirds, reducing the maternal
mortality ratio by three-quarters, and universal
access to reproductive health.
For developing countries like Jamaica and its
sister Caribbean nations, the U5MR is most
significantly contributed to by neonatal deaths
(deaths within the first 28 days of life) and infant
deaths (deaths of children under the age of
one year). Jamaica has seen little change in its
neonatal mortality rate in recent years (17.9
in 1986, 16.3 in 2009); the same is true
of infant mortality rates and maternal
mortality ratios. The Health Sector Plan
of Vision 2030, Jamaicas National
Development Plan, has identified
its child mortality and maternal
mortality rates as being Far
Behind.
42
U W I
R E S E A R C H
There is limited detailed information available

on contributors to newborn, infant and
maternal health and an absence of information
on paternal health and well-being, There is
also limited information on the development
of Jamaicas children in the first few years of
life. The absence of information in these areas
significantly impacts the ability of governments
to formulate plans and programmes to reduce
maternal and child mortality and morbidity rates
and maternal mortality ratios and to improve
childrens development. The detailed information
required is typically obtained from survey data,
particularly birth cohort
studies
undertaken
by
universities
in
collaboration
with
government ministries
and agencies, as have
occurred
in
Brazil
(1982,1993,2004),
Britain (1958, 1970,
2000),
the
USA
(2001,2010)
and
Jamaica (1986).
The first Jamaican Birth
Cohort Study 1986,
established
accurate
maternal and child mortality and morbidity
rates, identified factors contributing to poor
birth outcomes and impacted the policies of the
Ministry of Health, resulting in improved antenatal
and delivery services for mothers and children
in the 1980s (McCaw-Binns et al 2010, SammsVaughan et al, 2008).
F O R
2 0 1 3
The new Jamaican Birth Cohort Study 2011,

known as JAKIDS, aims to improve the health,
developmental and behavioural outcomes for
Jamaican children, by obtaining current and
detailed information on factors impacting their
outcome. Coming 25 years after the previous birth
cohort study, this study adds new dimensions,
consistent with increased knowledge over time.
First, mothers of
in pregnancy to
maternal health
foetal period.
cohort children were enrolled

obtain critical information on
and well-being during the
Second, detailed information
was obtained on
fathers health and
well-being, allowing
the contribution of
fathers to newborn
and early childhood
health
and
development to be
determined. Third,
the genetic and
chemical
environment was investigated by obtaining
information
on
environmental
exposures and collecting biological samples for
analysis of genetic, environmental and chemical
markers. Environmental toxins are believed to
have increased over time with industrialisation
and to have impacted child health and
development. Fourth, detailed developmental
and behavioural evaluations are being conducted
on Jamaican children in the first two years of
life, now recognised to be a critical period for
brain development. Fifth, geomapping techniques are being

used to enhance data analysis. In
addition, technologically efficient
and cost effective data collection
methods
using
telephone
interviewing and data entry
on computers is being utilised.
Jamaicas
established
high
cellphone penetration supports
this method of data collection.
The information obtained will
allow for the determination
of
pre-natal
and
early
environmental factors on both
newborn and early childhood
health and development.
A
comparison of data across the
two birth cohort studies will also
allow unique trend data to be
obtained, documenting areas of
progress and identifying areas for
intervention.
The JAKIDS study included all
children born in Jamaica between
July and September 2011 and
their families. Just under 10,000
mothers and 3,500 fathers were
interviewed at their childs birth,
representing more than 90% of
all births in Jamaica; more than
5,000 mothers were interviewed
in pregnancy.
Information
was collected on childrens and
parents health and well-being
U W I
R E S E A R C H
and on the factors that promote and prevent

optimal health and development.
When
children were 9 to 12 months old, telephone
interviews were conducted with parents to
obtain information on parental well-being
and childrens health and development. Some
7,800 parents participated at the 9 to 12 month
contact. The 18 month contact, comprising
telephone data collection and face- to- face
contact with detailed developmental and
behavioural evaluation of children is currently
underway.
Information collected in the antenatal period
identified that less than half of women reported
preparing for parenting prior to the pregnancy,
by seeking parenting information, because
they felt no need to. For those who sought
information on parenting, health workers
were identified as the group that provided
the highest quality of parenting information
when compared with mothers, friends, printed
material and other sources.
Preliminary analysis of newborn health
information has identified an admission rate
of 22% in the first 28 days of life. Access of
ill newborns to public paediatric services has
improved significantly with time, with public
hospitals in 12 of 14 parishes (86%) having
paediatricians, compared with 7 of 14 (50%)
in 1986. Detailed analysis of the causes of
newborn and infant mortality is currently being
conducted.
F O R
2 0 1 3
The JAKIDS study is collaborating with researchers

from the National Childrens Study in t Michigan,
USA. The National Childrens Study has similar
aims and objectives and is being co-ordinated
by the National Institutes of Health. The study is
supported through grants from the IDB, UNICEF
and the NHF and collaborations with Michigan
State University and the University of Texas.
Professor Maureen Samms-Vaughan is
Professor of Child Health, Child Development
and Behaviour, UWI; Consultant Developmental
and Behavioural Paediatrician, UHWI; and
Chairman of the Early Childhood Commission,
the government body responsible for the
advancement of early childhood development.
43
44
U W I
R E S E A R C H
F O R
2 0 1 3
DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY HEALTH & PSYCHIATRY
Denise
Eldemire-Shearer
Study of Older Persons

in 2011
U W I
R E S E A R C H
The researchers are involved in a national

community survey of 3000 older persons to
provide detailed data on the health and social
status of the over 60 population. In 1989 a
similar survey was done which noted the early
stages of the ageing of the population and drew
attention to the issues. The 2011 census has
confirmed that the Jamaican population is in
fact ageing with just over 300,000 persons in
the older age group and another 100,000 in the
55 59 age group and as such is an age group
requiring specific attention.
Policy makers increasingly are recognizing the
importance of having policies and programme
to address the needs of this population, which
are many and varied, ranging from health and
social to recreational. Vision 20/30 which seeks
to have a healthy and stable population and
effective social protection states, The ageing of
the population particularly the growth of the
elderly and working age cohorts will emerge
as one of the most significant demographic
and socio-economic challenges to face the
country. To be effective and appropriate efforts
must be informed by accurate comprehensive
information about the particular population and
the survey seeks to meet the need by providing
this information through statistical analysis on the
magnitude and nature of issues including the
strengths and opportunities of the age group.
While there has been an increase in the total
over 60 population, the age group showing the
most growth is the over 80 age group which was
F O R
2 0 1 3
24% of the population surveyed including three

centenarians. The over 80s have the greatest
potential for need as with increased age there is
the possibility of increased frailty and the need for
support to maintain independence. The finding
of 93% being able to perform the basic activities
of living such as bathing and eating suggests
some independence but when more difficult
tasks were examined such as climbing stairs and
stooping down 50% had difficulty, 18% used
assistive devices such as canes and walkers with
twice as many females as males involved. The
finding suggests community based programmes
are an important option for the way forward.
Institutional care is expensive and home care
preferred by the majority of persons. Older
Jamaicans still own their own houses (71%)
with an average 3.5 persons living in each
household. This information suggests that
programmes to support homecare are a
viable option to help older persons stay
independent and retain pride and
dignity.
Financial support is of interest
and the survey found that
the majority depend on
themselves or family
not government for
financial support
(84.7%). The
question
45
46
is how long can families maintain such support as
the number of children per older persons declines
thus pointing to the need for an examination of
pension scheme, retirement programmes and
even the age of retirement. The survey informs
that half of the retired population made no plan
for retirement.
includes dementia and depression. From the

preliminary data depression is a consideration
both screening and treatment. While the
majority (49.1%) had no depression 13.5% did
and 20% need further evaluation indicating
the importance of including depression related
services in primary health care.
Another area of interest is health. Jamaica like the

rest of the Caribbean has been focusing on the
chronic disease epidemic and the management
of chronic disease is a priority of the Ministry of
Health. Levels of chronic disease and associated
complications
are
significant in discussing
health care of and for
older persons as they
have been exposed
longer than most to the
risk factors. The survey
confirms the concerns
as hypertension has
risen to 63% from
42.6% since the 1989
survey and diabetes
to 26.7% from 10.2%.
This is similar to the
findings of the Lifestyle
Survey done by TMRI. In the 1989 survey there
only 31 cancer survivors while in 2011 there are
133. As is expected with older persons sensory
problems were also significant and/or 25% had
visual and hearing deficits cataracts, glaucoma
and hearing loss being most common.
All ageing societies are experiencing an increase

in dementia which is associated with both health
care costs and the need for family support
programmes. The Jamaican situation is no
different
with 11.4% being demented and
38% needing further
evaluation. This will
be done as phase
II of the study and
is seen as a critical
component of any
health policy for
older persons.
A significant health need in the older years is in

the area of mental health which for older persons
The research has

three
important
benefits,
it
has
provided knowledge
about the health and
social state of the
over 60 population and how this has changed
since the National Policy for Seniors was written
in 1997. It will therefore provide the basis for rewriting the policy.
Secondly the provision of health and the social
security can be costly exercise. The survey has
confirmed the need in both areas and provides
the basis for economic analysis both of needs
and of options. The data in

combination with other statistics
from the Ministry of Health can be
used to cost the various options of
health care and the cost of doing
nothing that is, uncontrolled
chronic diseases, and their
complications. Importantly, only
16% retired with health insurance.
Similarly, using the data and the
census, the pension needs for
the next two cohorts of retired
persons and various options can
be calculated.
Thirdly, it will inform the
development of both the further
research agenda and of educational
programmes at University on the
West Indies. The findings of the
survey have encouraged the team
at the Mona Ageing and Wellness
Centre to work with other by
discipline on the Campus especially
in the Social Sciences, economics
and geo-informatics.
Finally the survey has information
on the various family and the
community activities as well as
retirement investments and so
the ongoing contribution of older
persons can also be calculated.
The Ministries of Health and Labour
and Social Security are important
partners in the research.
47
Professor Denise Eldemire-Shearer
is the leading authority on ageing
and an unwavering advocate for the
elderly, Professor Denise EldemireShearer has worked with the UWI
for more than twenty (20) years. In
addition to being a medical doctor,
she is Professor of Public Health and
Ageing.
48
U W I
R E S E A R C H
F O R
2 0 1 3
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY, PSYCHOLOGY & SOCIAL WORK

THE UWI HIV/AIDS RESPONSE PROGRAMME
Marjan de Bruin-Maxwell
Ian Boxill & Yolanda Paul
HIV Vulnerabilities of Migrant

Workers from CARICOM
Countries in Antigua and
Barbuda and Barbados
U W I
R E S E A R C H
The Caribbean, a region with high migration

rates and frequent inter-island travel, accounts for
a relatively small share of the global HIV epidemic,
however, its HIV prevalence among adults is
about 1%. This is higher than the prevalence
rate in all other regions outside sub-Saharan
Africa (UNAIDS, 2012). The possible connection
between migration and HIV infection formed
part of the UN General Assemblys Special High
Level Meeting on HIV and AIDS. The discussion
focussed on strategic approaches regions must
take to lower the risk of getting HIV among the
migrant population.
In 2011, the International Labour Organisation
(ILO) Decent Work Team and Country Office for
the Caribbean commissioned four studies in the
region to better understand the mobile/migrant
workers vulnerabilities to HIV infection. Anecdotal
evidence showed that their living conditions such
as long time absence from family, loneliness,
isolation, confrontations with new cultures,
perhaps foreign languages could easily increase
their risks, but no systematic assessments were
ever done. These ILO vulnerability assessments
took place in Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados,
Belize and Trinidad and Tobago.
Professor Ian Boxill (and a team of research
assistants Margaret Ann Harris, Haydeikaye
Williams, Carel Hodge and Claudia Barned), with
support from UWI HARP (The University of the
West Indies HIV AND AIDS Response
Programme), Mona, conducted the study in
Antigua and Barbuda and Barbados. The study
F O R
2 0 1 3
specifically focussed on migrant sex workers

as they seemed to be most vulnerable to HIV
but at the same time most accessible within the
informal sector.
Boxill and his team started with a thorough desk
research, for both countries, on international,
regional and national human rights standards
and policy frameworks for migrant workers
and their rights, with specific reference to HIV
and AIDS. Antigua and Barbuda, as well as
Barbados, like many other CARICOM countries,
are signatories to ILO conventions, promoting
equal treatment of all workers, including migrant
workers and their families, and protection of
their human rights.
The analysis of national legislation, policies
and practices regarding the protection of
migrant workers informed a series of indepth interviews with Government officials,
NGOS, medical personnel, labour officials,
peer educators involved in interventions
for this high risk group, among others.
Boxills research team also conducted
several focus group discussions
with migrant sex workers,
including those working on
the streets and in exotic
clubs.
49
50
Laws and protocols
Antigua and Barbuda as well as Barbados do not
afford protection in line with the ILO protocols,
which they have signed, to protect migrant
workers. Many of these workers are unable
to access HIV testing and other related health
services due to fear of deportation or arrest. This
reluctance to get tested is stronger in Barbados,
as this country has been very strict in enforcing
its migration laws, hence protecting itself from
undocumented migrant workers.
Costs for health services
Focus group discussions
showed
that
in
several cases, only
legal migrant workers
could easily access HIV
related health services.
At some health centres,
disclosure of ones
migrant status was a
prerequisite for those
workers who wanted
to get HIV testing. In
Barbados, workers in
the informal sector
were required to pay
at public hospitals for health services, while in
Antigua and Barbuda, this came without a cost.
However, the Antiguan Government is presently
reviewing its National Benefits scheme: migrant
workers have allowed their extended families,
who have joined them, to illegally benefit from
the free access to health services.
Discrimination
Regardless of language, nationality, occupation
or sexual orientation, all persons interviewed
in Antigua and Barbuda, reported cases of
discrimination. Stigma, associated with being
a sex worker, and fear of derogatory remarks
discouraged migrant sex workers from freely
accessing health care services.
HIV information
In Antigua and Barbuda many female migrants
are Jamaican and work within the clubs. They
have little or no exposure to HIV information
and education and
basic knowledge of
prevention, access to
medication and free
health services are
lacking.
Recommendations
This ILO/UWI HARP
Study
includes
recommendations at
various levels and for
different parties.
To minimise migrant
workers vulnerabilities to HIV:
1. Both countries will need to enforce the laws
and protocols which they have signed.
2. Broader-based and far reaching HIV and
AIDS workplace interventions and programmes,
through the Ministry of Labour in Barbados, are
needed.
3. Work place programmes will need to
incorporate a firm policy to oversee cultural and
gender issues, empowerment

concerns and rights of both
sexes, and give particular
consideration to illegal women
workers confronted with stigma
and discrimination.
4. Port workers, prosecutors,
police and immigration officers
need to take part in training
to strengthen their customer
service and interpersonal skills
when interfacing with migrant
sex workers. Such training will
reduce the risk of mistreatment
of migrant workers when they
enter countries.
5. The empirical data on
migrant workers need to inform
HIV prevention programmes
specifically designed for this at
risk group.
6. Participation of stakeholders in
using the data will strengthen a
more comprehensive Behaviour
Change Communication plan,
which should address knowledge
gaps on HIV and associated
health services.
7. Specifically in Antigua
and
Barbuda,
targeted
messages addressing stigma
and discrimination and HIV
prevention education should be
continuously displayed. These
messages should emphasise
tolerance for all members of
society and greater information
51
on access to HIV care and prevention
mechanisms.
Indications are that ILO is using this
study as the baseline and source for
evidence-based intervention design.
At the policy level, the findings
from the study have been used in
regional policy meetings, especially
on migrant workers issues.
Dr Marjan de Bruin-Maxwell is
the Director of UWI HARP, Monaan interdisciplinary hub for any
research on the social, political and
economic aspects associated with
HIV and AIDS. She has published
widely on Communication, Gender
and HIV. Email: marjan.debruin@
uwimona.edu.jm
Ms Yolanda Paul is the Project
Manager at UWI HARP, Mona. She
assists in the general co-ordination
and management of all projects.
She is currently pursuing an M.A.
in Communication for Social and
Behaviour Change.
52
U W I
R E S E A R C H
F O R
2 0 1 3
TROPICAL MEDICINE RESEARCH INSTITUTE

DEPARTMENT OF SURGERY, RADIOLOGY, ANAESTHESIA & INTENSIVE CARE
Hyacinth Harding-Goldson,
Marvin Reid & Richard Augier
Urinary Leukotriene E4 in
Patients with Homozygous
Sickle Cell Disease
U W I
R E S E A R C H
Sickle cell disease predominantly affects

populations in tropical and sub-tropical Africa
and their descendants in the Americas and
Europe but also occurs in populations from
the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and India.
Jamaica has a relatively high prevalence of
sickle cell disease (SCD), which accounts for
1:150 births (approx 300/year). It is an inherited
genetic variation in which there is production
of abnormal haemoglobin S in red blood cells.
The haemoglobin S molecule crystalises when
exposed to low oxygen concentrations resulting
in a conformational change in the shape of red
blood cells from their normal biconcave, round
shape to crescents called sickling. This results in
increased fragility of the red blood cells, increased
destruction and a shortened life span. The latter
results in a low red blood cell count called
anaemia. Sickling also causes blockage of small
blood vessels with impaired blood supply. There
is also inflammation of the blood vessels resulting
from damage to their lining and activation of the
bodys immunological/hormonal stress response.
Blockage of blood vessels, leads to tissues being
starved of oxygen resulting in tissue death but
more commonly in severe and debilitating pain.
Patients with sickle cell disease suffer from acute
painful crises (APC). These involve the extremities,
pelvis, abdomen, chest and back. Cysteinyl
leukotrienes (CysLT) are inflammatory molecules
produced from arachidonic acid through the
5-lipooxygenase pathway. There is evidence that
CysLT- related vascular effects may be the cause
of occlusion of blood vessels in SCD. Cysteinyl
F O R
2 0 1 3
leukotriene E4 (LTE4) is a metabolic by- product

which can be measured in the urine. Discovery
of an association between urinary leukotriene
E4 (uLTE4) levels and acute painful crisis would
support the use of uLTE4 as a biomarker of
disease severity (in terms of frequency of episodes
of APC) and the use of leukotriene inhibitors as a
possible therapy for APC.
Pain affects all persons with the disease. It can
be acute, chronic or acute on a background of
chronic pain and often is so severe as to have
a destructive socio-economic impact on their
lives. People who suffer from frequent painful
episodes are often stigmatized because of often
missing work or school and requiring strong
pain- relieving drugs. Approximately 50 cases of
acute painful crisis are managed monthly at the
Sickle cell unit and another 30 cases are seen
at the University Hospital of the West Indies
Casualty Department, placing additional
healthcare requirements on an already
overburdened service.
Presently there is only one treatment
that can reduce the frequency
of acute painful crisis, and this
drug cannot be used in all
patients, so the search
for other treatments
continues.
53
54
A biomarker that could be used as an objective
method of measuring the severity of disease
and the level of pain would allow for more
targeted care, and help to reverse common
misperceptions. Such a tool would be extremely
useful in improving the standard of care available
to persons with sickle cell disease and by
extension the quality and productivity of their
lives. This project investigates the possibility that
the inflammatory molecules Cysteinyl leukotrienes
(CysLT) could be one such biomarker.
This experimental study investigates uLTE4

concentration in patients with homozygous
sickle cell disease during periods when they have
no pain and during painful episode. It comprises
of three phases:
Cysteinyl leukotrienes
have been implicated
in the pathophysiology
of asthma. They cause
constriction of the
pulmonary
blood
vessels,
increase
mucous
secretion
and
pulmonary
vascular permeability.
The
discovery
of
the association has
resulted in the use of
leukotriene inhibitors
in management of
asthmatic patients.
Phase 2
An
experimental
study
comparing
steady state levels
of uLTE4 in two
groups of patients
with
homozygous
SCD. Group 1, those
with a history of a
high frequency of
APCs (>5/year, high)
and group 2, those
who have a low
frequency (<2/year,
low) history. These
two groups will be matched for age, gender and
pulmonary function status.
A demonstrated association between sicklerelated painful episodes and uLTE4 will suggest
a possible application of leukotriene inhibitors
in SCD patients, and allow for measurement of
the relationship between dose and effect. This
would allow for future investigations into the use
of leukotriene inhibitors as therapy for sickle cell
pain.
Phase 1
An experimental study comparing uLTE4 in
patients with homozygous SCD during steady
state with age and gender matched HbAA
controls.
Phase 3
A longitudinal study comparing uLTE4 levels
during painful crisis and then in steady state in
the same homozygous SCD subjects.
This project is a collaboration between the
Section of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care in
the Department of Surgery,

Radiology,
Anaesthesia
&
Intensive Care and the Sickle cell
Unit of the Tropical Medicine
Research Institute, UWI Mona. It
grew out of a common interest
in sickle cell pain, its causes and
treatment. It also forms part of
the ongoing effort by the Faculty
of Medical Sciences UWI and
the SCU/TMRI to improve the
research capability of clinical
faculty members through the
provision of research fellowships.
International dissemination of the
results and future collaborations
will acrue. The Funding for this
project was obtained from the
Mona New Initiative programme
and the Caribbean Health
Research Council.
Dr Hyacinth Harding is a
Senior Lecturer & Head, Section
Anaesthesia and Intensive Care
Department of Surgery, Radiology
Anaesthesia and Intensive Care
Mona.
Dr Richard Augier is a
Consultant Anaesthetist
Research Fellow and Associate
Lecturer, Department of Surgery,
Radiology
Anaesthesia
and
Intensive Care University of the
West Indies, Mona.
55
Collaborators:
Professor Marvin Reid, Director, Sickle Cell Unit,
UWI, Mona.
Dr Susanna Bortolusso-Ali, Director Clinical
Services, Sickle Cell Unit, UWI, Mona.
Dr Jennifer Knight-Madden, Sickle Cell Unit, UWI.
56
U W I
R E S E A R C H
F O R
2 0 1 3
Clayton A. Sewell, Courtney Barnett,

Sharon White, Christine Walters
Prisoners, their Rehabilitation

and Recidivism: Reform of the
Prison System - A Caribbean
Perspective
U W I
R E S E A R C H
Since the second half of the 20th century

Jamaica and the Turks & Caicos Islands, have
been experiencing increasing levels of crime,
particularly violent crime. This has led to efforts
by successive governments to modernize
their security infrastructure, employ strategies
to improve investigation and prosecution,
implement creative methods of sentencing and
rehabilitation to reduce the number of repeat
offenders.
For both countries, the attempts to reform the
system have met with low levels of success and in
an effort to understand and treat with the issues;
the trend has been to focus on the macro issues
and on the quantitative analysis of crime and
punishment in the Caribbean.
In Jamaica, the foundations of the prison system
were deeply rooted in the perspective of the
plantocracy and in 1962, when the colonial
Government handed over the reins to a newly
democratically- elected Government, the
practices of the former colonial managers with
regard to crime and punishment were in the
main continued.
In the second half of the 20th century independent
Jamaica experienced high and ever increasing
levels of crime, particularly violent crime. This led
to changes in order to:Modernize the system with the use of (i)
preventive policing; (ii) More strategic approaches
F O R
2 0 1 3
to prioritizing crimes for investigation and

prosecution; (iii) rehabilitation of prison inmates
and re-entry program to reduce recidivism and
use of alternative sentencing, fast tracking
procedures and conciliation with the victims for
minor offenses are additions intended to make
more efficient use of resources (World Bank,
2006).
For Jamaica the attempts to improve on the
existing system have yielded disappointing
results (2) and policy makers and practitioners
of legal and judicial reform are searching for
better ways of assessing the performance of
justice systems and tracking progress. (World
Bank, 2006).
Several reports have been produced on the prison
system. These reports, however, have focused
on the deplorable physical infrastructure, the
lack of functioning sanitary conveniences,
the absence of water, the failure to provide
the basic minimum required space as
detailed by international conventions,
the crowding of three to five persons
in individual cells and the limited
access to meaningful rehabilitative
programmes. The studies did
not document
details of
the inmates themselves
or took into account
their
prison
experiences.
57
58
Another issue impacting the burden of treatment,
rehabilitation and ultimately recidivism among the
prison population is the high level of mental illness
among prisoners. Globally, there are high levels
of mental illness among the prison population as
reported by Fazel & Danesh (2002) in a systematic
review of 62 studies from 12 countries worldwide.
They reported that among male prisoners,
3.7 % had psychotic illnesses; 10% had major
depression and 65% had personality disorders of
which 75% was anti-social personality disorder.
For female prisoners, 4% had psychotic illnesses;
12% had major depression; 42% had personality
disorder with 21%
having
anti-social
personality
disorder
(Fazel & Danesh 2002).
Conclusions in this
study indicated that
prisoners were several
times likely to have
psychosis and major
depression and about
10 times more likely
to exhibit anti-social
behaviour than the
general
population.
There are approximately
4,036 prisoners incarcerated in Jamaica and
there is need to establish whether Jamaica is
in fact mirroring the global experience with
psychiatric morbidity and whether this prevalence
is a contributing factor to or is a consequence of
imprisonment and recidivism.
This study aims to assist in the development of
practical, workable recommendations to improve
the outcomes for the prison population. The

study has the following objectives:1. To determine the level of psychiatric morbidity
among the prisoners in Jamaica.
2. To understand the experience of the persons
who were and are currently incarcerated
regarding:
(a) The factors which account for initial
imprisonment and subsequent recidivism;
(b) Strategies for coping with life in prison;
(c) Their perspective of the effectiveness of the
prisons rehabilitative methodologies;
(d) Experiences with rehabilitation;
(e) Expectations and
plans for life after
prison.
personality
disorder
and
psychopathy in the general prison
population as well as document
levels of recidivism.
To make recommendations to strengthen

and
guide
the
development of a
holistic,
culturally
appropriate
and
g e n d e r- s e n s i t i v e
correctional system
which can contribute
to the reduction of
the prison population
The understanding of crime to be

gained from this micro perspective
analysis should contribute to
the rethinking of the system of
punishment and rehabilitation in
the prison systems both in Jamaica
and the Turks & Caicos Islands.
The ultimate goal of this study is to
offer recommendations to guide
the development of a holistic,
culturally appropriate and gendersensitive correctional system.
This will be a 24- month study using a convergent

parallel mixed method and will be carried out in
three phases. The first phase will utilize secondary
research and will focus on the situational analysis
of the prison system in Jamaica. Phase two
will utilize quantitative methodology and will
establish the prevalence of psychiatric morbidity,
Results from the study will be

disseminated through technical
reports, journal articles and
public presentations to relevant
Government agencies and public
audiences.
and recidivism.
Phase three will use qualitative

methodology and will focus on
the prisoners experience with
recidivism and rehabilitation.
Phases two and three will be
conducted separately, during the
same time period, and the results
converged after the analysis
for the data interpretation and
sharing phases.
59
Dr Clayton A. Sewell is a Forensic Psychiatrist
and is currently Lecturer and Consultant
Psychiatrist with the Department of Community
Health and Psychiatry at the U.W.I. His previous
research work has included forensic mental health
studies in Jamaica and the United Kingdom, as
well as studies violence, depression and suicide.
60
U W I
R E S E A R C H
F O R
2 0 1 3
DEPARTMENT OF BASIC MEDICAL SCIENCES
Jacqueline
Corness
Drug Use and Vulnerability

of the Brain
U W I
R E S E A R C H
Cannabis, also known as marijuana or ganja,

is a drug that has been given a great deal of
worldwide media attention in recent years. As
governments hotly debate legal classification,
restriction exemptions and decriminalization
of the drug, medical researchers have been
studying the potential benefits and adverse
effects of cannabis use in order to help inform
public debate. In particular, cannabis use and its
possible role in the development of mental health
disorders has been an area of intense study by
neuroscientists.
One area of research that has gained much
public attention is that which associates cannabis
with drug-induced psychosis. Psychosis is
known to develop as a response to chronic
stimulant drug use, for example from cocaine
and amphetamines, but the consequences of
cannabis use remain less clear. Part of the reason
for this is that cannabis used for recreational
purposes contains many active ingredients, and
different growing conditions and preparations of
the plant will lead to variation in the ratio of these
constituents. This has complicated the results of
many studies carried out in the past, but more
recent work has identified that the balance of
these chemicals in a given preparation might
be instrumental in determining the potential
of the drug to induce psychosis in long-time
users. While some chemicals found in the plant
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2 0 1 3
are now believed to be protective, others are

undoubtedly more damaging for the nervous
system. Our research will therefore be specifically
looking at the effects of-9-tetrahydrocannabinol
(THC), identified as being one of the most
neurologically active and potentially adverse
components of cannabis. Knowing the areas
of the brain that are damaged by stimulantinduced psychosis, we aim to characterize the
effects of THC on these regions.
Previous studies have shown that a very specific
area of the brain is damaged by prolonged
stimulant use. This area consists of neurons that
are involved in inhibiting another set of neurons.
In stimulant-induced psychosis, these inhibitory
neurons die and those that they would normally
61
62
inhibit become overactive as a result, in a process
known as disinhibition. It is then thought to be
this over-activity that creates the symptoms of
psychosis. To greatly simplify this model, research
in this area has suggested that disruption in the
balance of this particular neuronal circuit
allows imagined events or dream memories to be
stored as real memories. The patient would then
be unable to distinguish between situations which
did or did not happen, leading them to believe
that a hallucination is a real event. Medications
used to treat psychosis are designed to block the
output of the overactive neurons, thus alleviating
these symptoms. In this
model, the damage
to the brain resulting
in
drug-induced
psychosis would be
long term, and persist
beyond cessation of
drug use, but might be
exacerbated by stress or
other events.
Because only certain
individuals appear to
be susceptible to the
development of druginduced psychosis, another aim of ours is to look
for some of the susceptibility factors that make
certain individuals more vulnerable than others.
Theories suggest, for example, that a genetic
predisposition to psychotic disorder may manifest
itself as psychotic symptoms after prolonged or
intense use of cannabis. Our research is therefore
aimed at identifying what genetic factors might
increase the likelihood for external substances
such as THC to affect the integrity of delicate

neuronal circuits, based on the model described
above. We can test this by looking at what
endogenous proteins in these neurons may
act as protective agents against the damaging
effects of THC, and how these factors might
vary in strength or activity within the general
population.
It is hoped that this work will have far-reaching
consequences for research and development at
University of the West Indies. This work is currently
benefiting from links with collaborators at Kings
College
London
and University of
Liverpool
who
have
contributed
time, funding and
expertise to this
project.
Moreover,
our
collaborators
are enthusiastically
supporting
the
further development
of local research in
this area, including
the expansion of
psychiatric research
within the fields of bioinformatics and genomics.
Full understanding of psychiatric aetiology is
dependent on knowledge of region-specific
interplay between genetic and environmental
factors, and our team will continue to strive after
this knowledge through the development of a
strong research base in both basic and clinical
psychiatric research in Jamaica.
Dr Jacqueline Corness is a
Senior Lecturer in the Physiology
Section in the Department of Basic
Medical Sciences at the University
of the West Indies. She has a
BSc and MSc in Pharmacology,
and a PhD in Neuroscience.
She has worked for 20 years
as a researcher in molecular
neuroscience in Canada, France,
Sweden, USA, England, Scotland,
the Netherlands and now in
Jamaica.
63
64
U W I
R E S E A R C H
F O R
2 0 1 3
DEPARTMENT OF MICROBIOLOGY
Alison Nicholson &

Camille Thoms-Rodriquez
The Molecular Detection &

Identification of Antibiotic
Resistance in Multidrug
Resistant Bacteria
U W I
R E S E A R C H
Antibiotic resistance has emerged as a significant

global problem. . This has serious implications for
the treatment of bacterial infections caused by multidrug resistant organisms (MDRO). The problem
of resistance varies in different parts of the world,
with some areas having higher levels of resistance
than others, for example, penicillin resistance
in Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates has been
reported to be > 50% in France and Spain while in
Jamaica a rate of 3.2% was reported for 2001. The
distribution of pathogens also varies globally with
some pathogens being endemic to some places, for
example, New Delhi Metallobetalactamase (NDM)
containing Enterobacteriacae isolates are endemic to
India.
Several factors contribute to the emergence and
spread of antibiotic resistance, including the
inappropriate use and choice of antibiotics. This is
aptly demonstrated in the area of respiratory tract
infections (RTIS) where the disparity between the
amount of prescriptions written for RTIs (78%) and
the contribution of RTIs to the worldwide burden of
morbidity and mortality (10%) is marked. In addition,
there are specific antibiotics that are known to have
a high resistance induction potential. Where these
antibiotics are employed in a hospital as workhorse
antibiotics there will be a high incidence of resistance
to a wide range of antibiotics. The genes responsible
for antibiotic resistance are very often located on
mobile genetic elements which may, with time
acquire other resistance genes. As a result, transfer
of these mobile genetic elements from one organism
to another, usually results in transfer of resistance to
a wide range of antibiotics. This has implications for
infection control practices.
Surveillance at the University Hospital of the West
Indies has shown significant increase in the incidence
of multi-drug resistant Gram negative bacteria
(MDRGNB) with some isolates being
resistant to all currently available
antibiotics. The rate
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2 0 1 3
at which new antibiotics against MDRO is being

produced is not fast enough to address the problem
and there is a risk of humanity returning to the preantibiotic era. One of the more common mechanisms
of resistance is through the production of drug
inactivating enzymes.
65
resistance, such as the action of efflux
pumps which actively extrude antibiotics
from the bacterial cell, thereby rendering
them ineffective. The presence of these
mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance has
implications for patient management and
for the development
It is against this background that previous research at

of antibiotic policies. These policies
the UWI identified a group of these enzymes called
must be driven by hospital-specific data
carbapenemases. The carbapenem class of antibiotics
so continuous surveillance of existing
was developed to combat the effects of the extended
mechanisms and the identification of
spectrum -lactamases responsible for resistance to
new mechanisms of resistance such as the
third generation cephalosporins. However, in recent
Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase
times, the emergence of carbapenemases, which are
(KPC) are important for patient care at
able to destroy beta-lactam antibiotics including the
the UHWI. Furthermore, using modern
carbapenems, has intensified the problem of resistance,
molecular techniques in the upgraded
by removing from the antibiotic armamentarium one
laboratories
of the Department of
of the most potent and commonly used classes
Microbiology,
the New Initiative Grant
of antibiotics. The research which was part of a
will
be
used
to
continue the monitoring of
Doctor of Medicine (Medical Microbiology) project,
the production of carbapenemases among
identified several carbapenemases including OXA
MDRGNB isolated at the UHWI, Jamaica, while
23,24,51,58 and the most recently emerged
determining the clonality/relatedness of isolates.
New Delhi metallobetalactamase (NDM). NDM
Further, we will apply the techniques learned,
infections which arose in India in 2008 are
as well as seek to develop cheaper and simpler
notoriously difficult to treat and are the cause
techniques, to detect other mechanisms of antibiotic
of serious morbidity and mortality in several
resistance
such as the action of efflux pumps among
countries. The research has provided the
isolates
from
the hospital. This is crucial as it offers
UHWI with the techniques required to
insight into whether or not infections with the bacteria
detect infections caused by NDMare being acquired in hospital. A clear understanding
producing organisms and thereby
of the incidence and mechanisms of antibiotic resistance
allowing for appropriate action
is important for the development and implementation of
to limit their spread.
infection control measures and antibiotic policies.
The
research
also
Dr A Nicholson is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Microbiology
identified
other
(UWI) and is also a Consultant at the UHWI. She is currently the Infection
methods
of
Control Doctor at the UHWI and is involved in the development of both
antibiotic
Antibiotic and Infection Control policies at the UHWI. Dr. Nicholson supervised Dr.
Thoms-Rodriquez from 2008-2012 while she was a DM student. This award will allow
them to continue their work on Antibiotic Resistance.
Dr Camille-Ann Thoms-Rodriguez has recently acquired a DM in Medical Microbiology (2012;

UWI). Her DM project was done on the detection of carbapenemases in multidrug resistant Gram
negative organisms at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI). She continues to have an interest
in this area as she pursues a career in Bacteriology.
66
U W I
R E S E A R C H
F O R
2 0 1 3
Douladel
Willie
Sexual and Genitourinary Health

Profile of Persons 50 years and
Older Presenting at Urology and
Gynaecology Clinics in Kingston,
Jamaica
U W I
R E S E A R C H
Local health research among older persons

usually involves investigation relating to chronic
non-communicable diseases such as diabetes,
hypertension and heart disease. While these
are very important issues in older persons and
particularly so in the Jamaican context, the reality
is that the entire body system is affected by the
ageing process and thus there are other areas
that merit attention. This project focuses on
understudied areas including sexual, genital and
urinary system health in an attempt to develop
a profile of conditions among older persons
attending clinics in Kingston and to gain deeper
insight into how persons perceive that these
health situations affect their lives and relationships.
Additionally, this project will also shed light on how
societys views regarding older persons sexual
desires and practices as well as genitourinary
health converge with information obtained from
older persons themselves. Worldwide population
ageing makes it imperative that keen attention
be given to all the health needs of older persons
as a first step in ensuring that life is added to the
years that have been added to life.
The Mona Ageing and Wellness Centre in the
Department of Community Health & Psychiatry
is conducting this study in partnership with the
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and
the Division of Urology in the Department of
Surgery, Radiology, Anaesthesia and Intensive
Care. Men and women 50 years and over
attending gynaecology and urology clinics,
respectively, in Kingston are being interviewed.
So far 96 persons (68 women and 28 men) have
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2 0 1 3
been interviewed. At a minimum, an additional

132 women and 172 men are being targeted.
Interviews are conducted in semi-private settings
when patients attend out-patient clinics.
The women interviewed range in age from 50
to 78 years, at an average 60 years. The majority
of women interviewed believe sexual health is
important for women of all ages with almost 40%
indicating that they still had an interest in sex and
80% stating that would initiate discussion with a
doctor about a sexual problem. This agrees with
research in other settings in which sexual health
has been identified as important for quality of
life of older persons. Approximately 50% of the
women indicated that they were sexually active,
having had at least one sexual encounter in the
preceding twelve months. 11% of the women
who provided information about the duration
of their present relationship were involved
with their partner for less than 5 years. This
finding is noteworthy because research
indicates that older adults typically
perceive as low their risk of contracting
sexually transmitted infections (STIs)
even while forming new sexual
partnerships. This in turn puts
them at greater risk for
said STIs, including HIV
which is increasing
in
prevalence
among older
persons
67
68
in many settings, due in part to new infections.
More than one-third of the women interviewed
experienced a forced sexual encounter with most
stating that this happened in their childhood and
teenage years. This finding generates interest
especially in view of research which suggests that
early sexual trauma can cause abnormality in cells
in the cervix which in turn can result in cervical
cancer. Nearly half of the women said they
experience urinary incontinence, a condition
long recognized as one of the geriatric giants.
As expected the majority of women (93%) had
experienced menopause or were in the transition
phase with the mean
age of menopause
reported as 50 years.
More than half of
them stated that they
had fair or very good
knowledge
about
menopause. The most
commonly
reported
sources of information
were
family
and
friends and the media.
Nearly three quarters
of women had a
positive view of menopause despite reporting
experiencing bothersome symptoms such as
hot flashes, decline in energy, heart palpitations,
night sweats, spontaneous sweating and mood
swings. More than one third of women reported
symptoms of pelvic organ prolapse, a condition in
which weakened muscles and ligaments result in
the descent of the pelvic organs (such as womb,
bladder or rectum) to or through the vagina.
The conditions for which the women commonly

reported visiting are fibroids and pelvic organ
prolapse.
The ages range from 50 years to 84 years at an
average of 68 years. Sexual desire was described
as at least moderate for 55% (n=15) of the
men in the 4 weeks prior to the survey. Desire
did not translate directly into activity as only
approximately 30% (n=9) of men reported having
sexual intercourse within the 12 month period
prior to the survey. Of those who reported not
having sexual intercourse for that period, inability
to get or maintain
an erection were
the main reasons.
More than half of the
men reported being
dissatisfied with their
sex life for the same
period. Almost half
of men stated that
they believe that
sexual health is
equally
important
for all persons while
just over a quarter
stated that it is
more important for younger men. The majority
of persons (74%) said that if they went to a
doctor about another problem and they also
had a sexual problem they would tell a doctor
about it without being asked by the doctor.
Of the men so far assessed 13% (n=4) have
urinary catheters in place to drain urine from
the bladder. The remaining men were asked
questions to determine the presence and severity
of lower urinary tract symptoms,

which are commonly observed in
older men. The most frequently
reported lower urinary tract
symptom is nocturia with 80%
of persons reporting than they
typically wake up to urinate at
least 2 times per night. Having
a weak or intermittent urinary
stream at least half of the time
was also a commonly reported
symptom.
The second phase of this study
will involve holding focus group
discussions with men and
women to understand their
experiences and learn how these
life changes affect them. This
study aims to move the discussion
of sexual health (in particular) in
older persons from being taboo
or the subject of ridicule to
being considered an important
component for overall health and
quality of life. Descriptive findings
are expected to posit new/
understudied research questions
which are hoped to stimulate
further work in the area of sexual
and genitourinary health in older
persons.
69
Ms Douladel Willie is an
Epidemiologist and an Assistant
Lecturer in the Mona Ageing and
Wellness Centre, Department of
Community Health & Psychiatry.
74
F A C U L T Y
O F
SCIENCE
&
TECHNOLOGY
R E S E A R C H
F O R
2 0 1 2
75
76
U W I
R E S E A R C H
F O R
2 0 1 3
DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY & GEOLOGY
Kevon Rhiney
& David Barker
Promoting Marketing
Competitiveness and
Adaption to Climate Change
among Small Holder Farmers
Programme
U W I
R E S E A R C H
F O R
2 0 1 3
21
77
80
U W I
R E S E A R C H
F O R
2 0 1 3
DEPARTMENT OF LIFE SCIENCES
Noureddine
Benkeblia
Postharvest Physiology
and Ripening Biochemistry
of Some Fruits in Jamaica
U W I
R E S E A R C H
F O R
2 0 1 3
The Laboratory of Crop Science at the Department

of Life Sciences, UWI Mona, is seeking to develop
post-harvest technology (PHT) to prolong the
shelf-life of fruits and vegetables grown in
Jamaica and the Caribbean. Freshly-harvested
crops are living organisms and they continue their
metabolism after harvest. PHT aims to slow down
the inevitable senescence and death of fresh
crops by developing good post-harvest practices
(GPP) to extend shelf-life, maintain freshness and
reduce loss.
composition (sugars, organic and acids including

the phytonutrients such as phenolics compound
and anthocyanins) and their variation during
ripening and senescence, these commodities
could be easily kept for longer periods under
optimal designed parameters at good and
fresh attributes. This will fill the gap on the
physiological parameters of these fruits, and
develop new packaging designs with modified
atmosphere that will help extend the shelf-life of
these fruits under optimal conditions.
Historically, PHT has concentrated on the

maintenance of the different organoleptic
qualities including the visual quality, loss of turgor
and colour change, such as yellowing of green
produce, and the loss of the biochemical and
nutritional qualities, such as sugars and vitamin
C. While much is known about the fate of
macro- and micro-nutrients and vitamins within
temperate, tropical and sub-tropical fruits and
vegetables after harvest, comparatively little, if
any data, are available on the post-harvest fate
of many Jamaican fruits such as ackee (Blighia
sapida), June plum (Spondias dulcis), noni
(Morinda citrifolia) Otaheite apple (Syzygium
malaccense), star apple (Chrysophullum cainito),
ribena (Syzygium cumini) West Indian cherry
(Malpighia emarginata), and many other fruits
found in Jamaica and the Caribbean.
As examples, our studies have reported for the

first time very interesting results on the presence
of prebiotic sugars (called fructooligosaccharides)
in many fruits such as ackee, carambola and June
plum. Beside these results, we also reported the
content of many fruits in phytochemicals and
their antioxidants properties. More recently, one
of our studies demonstrated that arilii ackee oil
has a good nutritional value with a UFA/SFA
ratio of 3.6, and MUFA/PUFA ratio of 25.2,
which are positively comparable to olive
oil ratios (5.3 and 10.8, respectively)
(for details see: http://www.actahort.
org/books/932/932_41.htm,
h t t p : / / w w w. a c t a h o r t . o rg /
books/894/894_28.htm,
http://www.actahort.org/
books/894/894_26.
htm,
By determining the physiological parameters

(respiration rate, ethylene production, the Q10,
the fermentative index (FI), the effects of anoxia
and hypoxia), and assessing the biochemical
21
81
82
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/
jsfa.5946/abstract).
This fundamental and practical knowledge
will be beneficial to both professionals and
consumers by optimizing the timely harvesting,
appropriately handling crops, and reducing loss.
Furthermore, good handling will increase the
profit of the farmers and other professionals,
while the preserved nutritional quality will impact
positively on consumers health and well- being,
as it is well established that diet is the major
factor that affects health positively or negatively
and the challenge is
to make food the first
medicine.
This knowledge will
not only impact the
agriculture sector and
society as a whole, it
will contribute to the
agro-processing sector
by developing the
use of the modified
atmosphere packaging
(MAP)
technology.
Thus, the agro-industrial
sector will increase its potential by processing and
marketing the ready-to-use and the ready-toeat fresh fruits, at a low cost, as nowadays, the
plastic films used in MAP technology are much
cheaper than putting food in the fridge, even
though refrigeration of MAP products is desired
for better and longer preservation.
We are collaborating with many laboratories and

universities e.g. Michigan State University and
North Carolina State University (USA), Cranfield
University (UK), Rakuno Gakuen, Ebetsu
University and the National Agricultural Research
Centre for Hokkaido Region, Sapporo (Japan),
Autonomous University of Queretaro, Queretaro
and Centro de Investigacin y de Estudios
Avanzados del Instituto Politcnico Nacional
(CINVESTAV, Mexico), and King Mongkuts
University of Technology (Thailand), and agroprocessing companies (Grace Kennedy). Besides,
other collaborations are being developed with
academic institutions
such as the University
of Antilles et Guyane
(French
Antilles,
France), INRA Centre
Antilles-Guyane
(Guadeloupe,
France), INRA / CIRAD
/ PRAM (Martinique,
France), and with
agro-processing
companies
such
as
Tru-Juice,
Jamaica Packaging
Industries
(JPI),
FlexPak (Jamaica), and CargoFresh Technologies
(Germany) to develop the MAP and 4eme
gamme fresh products marketing in
Jamaica and the Caribbean.
The Laboratory of Crop Science,

led (headed) by Professor
Noureddine Benkeblia, conducts
research on tropical and subtropical fruits and vegetables.
The research activity focuses on
three topics: the Post-harvest
Physiology and Biochemistry
of tropical fruits, the Biological
Active Phytonutrients of Jamaican
fruits and plants, and the Fructan
Metabolomics liliaceous plants.
Each topic is funded by its own
research project and managed
by personnel that are actively
pursuing the different and
diverse research topics.
The mission of the laboratory is to:
(i) provide innovative teaching,
research, and outreach in the
art and science of horticulture,
emphasizing tropical horticulture.
83
These programmes encompass basic and
practical horticulture, post-harvest physiology,
biochemistry and storage technologies of tropical
crops, and metabolism of fructan-containing
plants using liliaceous plants as model; (ii)
meet the challenges of a highly competitive
and technological world through constant
evaluation and adjustment of its programmes
and positions; (iii) build a community that is
inclusive and welcoming of all people, including
academic staff, students, and other professionals
involved in horticulture, and last but not least;
(iv) serve the scientists, professionals and
general societies of Jamaica and the Caribbean
before reaching out to the rest of the world.
Professor Noureddine Benkeblia
Laboratory of Crop Science, Department of Life
Sciences, University of the West Indies, Mona
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U W I
R E S E A R C H
F O R
2 0 1 3
DEPARTMENT OF LIFE SCIENCES
Mona Webber, Camilo Trench,

Paul Kisson & Hugh Small
Critical Coastal Forest

Restoration for Climate
Change Adaptation and
Disaster Risk Reduction
U W I
R E S E A R C H
F O R
2 0 1 3
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88
U W I
R E S E A R C H
F O R
2 0 1 3
DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS
Mitko
Voutchkov
Lead Contamination Levels in Frasers

Content, St. Catherine and Mitigation
Interventions for Reducing Contamination
Levels from Backyard Smelting
U W I
R E S E A R C H
F O R
2 0 1 3
21
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92
U W I
R E S E A R C H
F O R
2 0 1 3
DEPARTMENTS OF PHYSICS, ECONOMICS, GEOGRAPHY & GEOLOGY
Michael Taylor, Claremont Kirton

Kevon Rhiney, Dale Rankine
Richard Sutherland & Travis Atkinson
Climate Change,
Agriculture and
Food Security
U W I
R E S E A R C H
There is enough scientific evidence to suggest that

the Caribbean is already experiencing the effects
of rapid global climate change as observational
records show increases in the number of very warm
days and nights and decreases in the number of
very cool days and nights. The Caribbean Sea has
also warmed by approximately 1.5C over the last
century and there has been strong variability in
the rainfall patterns across the region over the
last 50 years. With continued climate change it is
projected that temperatures will increase, global
mean sea-levels will rise and there will be increases
in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather
events such as hurricanes, floods and droughts.
This will undoubtedly threaten the lives and
livelihoods of those residing in the Small Island
Developing States (SIDS) of the Caribbean.
One of the sectors which will be hardest hit is
agriculture. Both subsistence and commercial
agriculture in SIDS will be adversely affected by
climate change. This is a source of concern for the
Caribbean given the regions high dependence
on agriculture as a source of domestic income,
employment, foreign exchange earnings and
livelihoods. Primary agriculture in the Caribbean
contributes an average of 10 per cent to GDP,
though the importance of the sector varies widely
across the regions economies e.g. from 32 per
cent in Guyana to as low as 2 per cent in Trinidad
and Tobago. Even in countries where agriculture
is not a major economic sector, subsistence
agriculture is critical to the livelihoods of many
rural poor households. The sector is a significant
employer within the region with Haiti and
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Montserrat having large agricultural employment

(60 per cent and 33 per cent respectively of their
total economically active population) and other
countries including Belize, St. Kitts and Nevis,
Antigua and Barbuda, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and
Grenadines and Dominica, having agricultural
employment rates higher than 20 per cent of the
total employed population. The sector includes
the production of a wide variety of crops,
fisheries, livestock and forestry.
Against, a background of increasing vulnerability
and uncertainty, it is important to assess and
forecast the likely impacts of climate change on
agriculture throughout the Caribbean. This is
necessary to identify and prioritize appropriate
adaptation and mitigation measures that can
provide technical options for climate-smart
agriculture and policy directions at the regional
and sub-regional levels. These actions will
reduce the vulnerability and enhance the
resilience of local communities in the
Caribbean and contribute to food security
in the region.
This study commissioned by
the Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) was
undertaken
by
an
interdisciplinary group
of
researchers
c o o rd i n a t e d
by
the
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94
Climate Studies Group, Mona (CSGM). The study
conducted between January and September 2012
examined the implications of climate change for
agriculture and food security in the Caribbean
(special emphasis on CARICOM States) and included
an inventory of agriculture and climate changerelated work being conducted in the Caribbean
as well as information on useful tools and suitable
policy responses for reducing regional agricultures
vulnerability to climate change and food insecurity.
Dr Michael Taylor is the Head of the Department

of Physics and the Director of the Climate Studies
Group, Mona (CSGM). In the latter capacity he
coordinates research on the science of Caribbean
climate variability and change.
In addition the study identified a need for the

establishment of regional food and distribution
systems
that
will
ensure the manifold
benefits of stable food
availability, food access
and appropriate food
utilization for good
health and nutrition
with lower external
costs to society and the
environment.
Professor Claremont Kirton is a Professor of

Development Economics in the Department of
Economics.
Research Team:
Michael.
A.
Taylor
(Physics),
Claremont
Kirton
(Economics),
Kevon Rhiney (Geography & Geology), Dale
Rankine (Physics), Richard Sutherland (Economics)
and Travis Atkinson (Economics)
Dr Kevon Rhiney lectures in the Department

of Geography and Geology, and is this years
recipient of a Commonwealth Postdoctoral
Fellowship based at the Oxford University, UK.
Mr Dale Rankine
is PhD candidate
in
Physics.
His
work focuses on
parameterizing
a crop model for
use in projecting
sweet potato yields
in the Caribbean
agricultural
sector
under
differing
climate scenarios.
Mr Richard Sutherland is an Assistant Lecturer
in the Department of Economics at UWI
Mona. His areas of special interest are Applied
Econometrics and Statistics. These techniques he
has applied to the fields of consumer welfare,
financial economics and climate change
modelling.
Mr Travis Atkinson is a final year

student at the UWI, completing a
double major in Economics and
Statics. He is also a recipient of
the Principals Scholarship for
Excellence and a traveled UWI
Debater.
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U W I
R E S E A R C H
F O R
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DEPT. OF GEOGRAPHY & GEOLOGY
A. Anthony Chen, Michael A. Taylor, Tannecia

S. Stephenson, Pietra Brown, Jayaka D. Campbell,
Kimberly A. Stephenson, Rochelle N. Walters &
Natalie M. McLean
State of the Climate in Jamaica:

Information for Resilience
Building (Pilot Programme for
Climate Resilience)
U W I
R E S E A R C H
Life in Jamaica in part revolves around climate,

whether it is wet or dry, hot or cool. It forms the
backdrop for a number of lifestyle and livelihoodrelated activities, making Jamaica a climate sensitive
country. For example, planting and reaping cycles
are intimately bound up with Jamaicas rainfall and
temperature seasons, as are disease cycles, energy
and water consumption patterns, sporting seasons
and even seasonal employment. Additionally the
fact that Jamaicas economic activities are climate
sensitive - agriculture and tourism, makes Jamaica
vulnerable to climate variations and
climate
changes which affects everyone and everything
consequently. There is a need to understand and
quantify how climate variability will play out in
Jamaica in the short term, as well as how long- term
climate change has and will continue to manifest
itself in Jamaica.
The Pilot Programme for Climate Resilience (PPCR) is
a part of the Strategic Climate Fund (SCF), a multidonor Trust Fund within the Climate Investment
Funds (CIFs). The overall objective of the PPCR
is to provide incentives for actions that can bring
about transformational change through the
integration of climate resilience considerations
in national development planning. The actions
should be consistent with reducing poverty and
with sustainable development goals. As a part of
the programme it was felt that any well-reasoned
strategic programme for climate resilience should be
conditioned on the state-of-the-day knowledge of
how the countrys climate has changed and how
it is likely to continue to change under a global
warming future. Consequently, the PPCR supported
research that produced the State of the Jamaican
Climate 2012: Information for Resilience Building.
The full report contains the most up to date
compilation of the state of the climate
of Jamaica (as of the year
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2012), including how and why Jamaicas climate is

known to vary, how it has changed historically and
how it is likely to change through the end of the
century. It also draws on existing studies to compile
a list of possible climate impacts on important sectors
or groupings in Jamaica. The information is provided
to facilitate medium and long- term planning across
sectors that are sensitive to climate variations.
A Summary for Policymakers produced from the
research highlights the main scientific results of the
full document under the headings of seven key
words. The words aid the reader to easily access
the appropriate and applicable climate information
in order to support discussion on the seven key
themes. The work was commissioned by the Planning
Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) and was produced by the
Climate Studies Group, Mona (CSGM) - a research
entity within the Department of Physics specializing
in the development of future climate scenarios for
the Caribbean under global warming scenarios.
97
Dr Michael Taylor is the Head of the
Department of Physics and the Director of
the Climate Studies Group, Mona (CSGM). In
the latter capacity he coordinates research
on the science of Caribbean climate
variability and change
Dr Tannecia Stephenson is a lecturer in
the Department of Physics and a researcher
in the CSGM. Her research interests include
Caribbean climate variability, climate
extremes and climate change projections
from statistical downscaling methods.
Ms Kimberly Stephenson is a PhD
candidate in the Department of Physics. Her
work focuses on developing a modelling
technique for predicting the future effects of
climate change on animal populations in a dry
forest.
Mr Jayaka D. Campbell is a Research Fellow in

Research Teams: A. Anthony Chen, Michael.
the Department of Physics. His research interests are
A. Taylor, Tannecia S. Stephenson, Pietra
centred on creating, parameterizing and validating
Brown, Jayaka D. Campbell, Kimberly A.
Regional Climate Modelling scenarios for the Caribbean
Stephenson, Rochelle N. Walters, Natalie
using Hydrostatic as well as Non-Hydrostatic models.
M. McLean
Ms Rochelle Walters is an M.Phil student in the Department
Professor A. Anthony Chen
of Physics. Her work focuses on quantifying drought in Jamaica
is Professor Emeritus. He is a
using the Standardized Precipitation Index and looking at external
member of the IPCC team
drivers of drought.
of authors that won the
Nobel Peace Prize of
Ms Natalie McLean is an M.Phil student in the Department of Physics.
2007.
Her research focuses on Future Projections of Climate Extremes for the
Caribbean Region.
Ms Pietra Brown is a Researcher with the Climate Studies Group, Mona, who has
a particular interest in the social consequences of climate change. With the group, she
has done work on the impacts of climate change for sectors in Jamaica and Vulnerability
assessments for coastal communities.
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U W I
R E S E A R C H
F O R
2 0 1 3
DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY & GEOLOGY
Sherene
James-Williamson
Geological Provenance Technique Use in

Historical Monument Site Preservation
for Disaster Preparedness
U W I
R E S E A R C H
Plasters and mortars from historical buildings

have long been considered an important source
of useful information regarding materials,
processes, formulation and building construction
as well as cultural provenance. It is this natural
resource utilization that allows scientists to decifer
clues to construction technology and availability
of material for used by ancestral people. These
studies are instrumental at sites which often result
from several transformations and stratifications
over the time. This project aims to investigate
if and how geological provenance may be
useful in determining building and architectural
provenance with a view towards disaster
preparedness and management, retrofitting and
preservation of historical sites and monuments.
Provenance means to come from and is used
in geology to indicate where geological material
such as sediments derived and in history and
archaeology it describes the chronology of
ownership of a particular artefact or specimen.
This project sought to identify the geological
material used in the construction of buildings
at specific locations in Jamaica; establish the
provenance of this material; determine suitable
techniques for analysis; and finally use the
composition of the mortar to determine changes
in techniques over time. Changes in construction
technique and mortar characteristics have already
been observed. It is hoped that this study will be
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used to assist in dating buildings and/or building

phases of period structures and monuments.
The study sites were Ackendown, Westmoreland,
Seville Great House, St. Ann, Porus, Manchester
and Bluefields Westmoreland. At each site a
preliminary building layout is done using aerial
photography and each building identified in
terms of its use in the past; the construction
techniques and architectural elements observed
and described; mortar and building material
samples collected; and building material use.
An effort was made to determine whether
geological material such as rocks and mortar
constituents may have been derived from a
nearby quarry, river or were just field stones
(rocks found on the property).
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102
U W I
R E S E A R C H
F O R
2 0 1 3
Keith
Duncan
A Feasibility Study of
Renewable Energy Production
in Jamaican Communities
U W I
R E S E A R C H
Energy is a major resource in the modern world and

the indisputable engine of technological progress.
However, for many nations conventional fossil fuel
energy sources are increasingly expensive. Indeed,
energy is sufficiently expensive in Jamaica to be a
drag on economic development. Manufacturing
companies located in the island are competitively
disadvantaged due to high energy costs. Likewise,
Jamaican families spend a disproportionately high
percentage of their incomes on energy compared
to other Caribbean families. This setting creates an
imperative for finding alternate sources of energy
to meet the demands of the populace at more
reasonable costs.
Opportunely, Jamaica is blessed with a variety of
alternatives to fossil fuel-sourced energy. These
include, but are not limited to, solar, wind and
biomass. Jamaica belongs to Earths geographic
sun-belt, and has sufficient irradiation to produce
most of its household energy needs through
photovoltaic and solar-thermal technology. Also,
due to its location, Jamaica receives significant wind
energy from the so-called trade winds, which makes
the conversion of this energy to much needed
electrical power an increasingly viable option.
Lastly, again by virtue of its tropical climate, Jamaica
produces generous amounts of biomass that is
typically discarded, but could be harvested for the
production of methane. Methane, is arguably the
cleanest member of the fossil fuel family and can
easily be used to generate electricity or in place of
propane and butane as a cooking gas.
The three abovementioned renewable/alternative
energy technologies are already in use in Jamaica.
However, high installation costs restrict their
implementation to only those blessed with extra
capital: the technology is unavailable to the vast
majority of the populace.
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Nevertheless, there is hope. In the world of

renewable/alternative energy, affordability is a
function of efficiency and efficiency is often driven
by circumstance and circumstances are naturally
variable properties. To wit, an apartment complex
in New Kingston has vastly different circumstances
from a rural village in the islands interior or a fishing
community on the coast. It is easy to conceive that
the amount of wind energy, solar energy and biomass
available to each entity will differ and perhaps differ
significantly, simply as a result of their contrasting
locations and activities, that is their circumstances.
Consequently, each circumstance will likely require
a uniquely tailored mix of renewable/alternative
energy technologies to maximize efficiency and
thereby increase affordability.
103
The projects catalogues both the energy
needs and the available renewable/
alternative energy resources (including
waste) for a variety of small communities
such as rural farming districts and urban
inner city areas.
By matching the energy needs and the
resources available to various communities
the study will produce an alternative
energy recipe (i.e., a combination of solar,
wind, waste-to-energy, etc.) suitable to
meet a percentage of each communities
energy needs or to lower costs for a specific
community service, e.g., irrigation. In
addition, the study will provide an energy
analysis (both production and consumption
potential) database of sample communities in
Jamaica.
In other words, renewable/alternative energy is

not a one-size-fits-all technology: wind energy
In addition, most renewable energy
works best where there is lots of wind, solar energy
technologies are by nature variable in their
needs lots of sun, and so on. Therefore, proper
power delivery (e.g., solar energy conversion
implementation of renewable energy strategies
varies with cloud cover and time of day; wind
requires an assessment of the local potential for
power changes with prevailing wind speed).
the available strategies.
However, much of this variability can be alleviated
by (where feasible) combining the technologies, for
This is precisely the rationale for our project:
example, cloud cover might not coincide with low wind
A Feasibility Study of Renewable Energy
speed. Moreover, solar and/or wind energy technologies
Production in Jamaican Communities.
can be combined with, the more inherently stable, (biomass)
This project explores the viability
waste-to-energy technologies to further stabilize the power
of implementing sustainable
output.
renewable/alternative energy
power delivery at the
Finally, since high overhead and maintenance costs are often
community level.
prohibitive for residents of developing nations to implement renewable
energy strategies for themselves, community approaches to renewable

energy adoption promises increased feasibility due to cost sharing of the
community members.
Dr Keith Duncan is a Lecturer in Materials Science and Computer Applications in the

Department of Physics, UWI, Mona.
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U W I
R E S E A R C H
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DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY
Paul Reese &

Petrea Facey
Chemical Elicitation:
Creating a Suitable Environment for
the Production of Biologically Active
Compounds from Marine Fungi
U W I
R E S E A R C H
Marine-derived fungi have been isolated from

various sources, such as mangroves, sponges,
algae and lichens. They have been shown to
produce compounds with unusual chemical
structures and interesting biological properties,
including antifungal, antibacterial, antiviral,
cytotoxic and immunosuppressive activities.
Their various bioactivities make them a valuable
source for pharmaceutical applications. In recent
years, attempts have been made to exploit
methods that lead to the production of more
chemically and biologically exciting molecules
from these microorganisms. Changes in nutrient
composition, growth temperature, light, and
seawater composition have proven successful
in altering the secondary metabolic processes in
marine fungi, and hence the type of compounds
these entities produce.
What if one could find another way to trigger the
generation of useful substances in these marine
fungi? That is, what if the addition of a substance
to the growth media of the organisms could
prompt the production of novel compounds?
This method, which is known as elicitation, has
been previously employed in cultured plant
cells for the production of important products.
Attempts to improve the manufacture of the
anticancer therapeutic agent Taxol from cell
cultures of the European yew plant (Taxus baccata
L.) resulted in a 16-fold increase in drug yield,
when the growth medium was supplemented
with the elictor compounds methyl jasmonate (a
plant growth regulator) and salicylic acid. Similarly,
when the roots of ginseng (Panax ginseng) were
treated with methyl jasmonate and cultured, there
was increased production of its principal bioactive
component, ginsenoside which has been shown
to possess anticancer, antihypertensive
and antidiabetic properties.
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Plant and fungal cells are very similar, therefore,

it was proposed that elicitation could be used
to initiate the synthesis of new constituents in
fungi. Very little work has been carried out on
elicitation in either marine or terrestrial molds.
However, recently, the incubation of the marine
fungus Phomospis asparagi with jasplakinolide
(an antimicrobial peptide, isolated from a
sponge) resulted in three new biologically active
compounds being formed.
For our study the marine fungus Aspergillus
ochraceus, derived from a sponge collected
from the coastal waters of Port Royal, is being
investigated for the production of natural
products, using methyl jasmonate, as well as
methyl salicylate and other related compounds
as elicitors. The products generated will be
isolated and tested for antimicrobial, anticancer
and antioxidant activities.
This project seeks to explore a renewable and
natural resource, marine fungi, for new and
bioactive agents. Microbial natural products
remain one of the most important
sources of lead compounds for the
pharmaceutical industry, particularly in
the area of antibiotics. Consequently,
research in this area can provide
opportunities
for
further
collaboration among depar
tments(chemistry,microbi
ology, pharmacology)
here at the UWI, as
well with other
105
international institutions in the
interest of Jamaicas scientific
development.
Professor Paul B. Reese is
Professor of Bio-organic Chemistry.
During his 27 years at Mona, his
groups research has explored the
isolation of biologically interesting
natural products from plants
and fungi, and has investigated
their chemical and biological
conversion to new analogues.
Dr Petrea C. Facey is a Research
Fellow in the Department of
Chemistry. She was previously an
Alexander von Humboldt Fellow in
Germany, where she investigated
the generation of antibiotics by
microorganisms. Both authors
can be found at the Department
of Chemistry, The University of the
West Indies, Mona.
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U W I
R E S E A R C H
F O R
2 0 1 3
Dharmaratne Amarakoon
Stanley Smellie
Opportunities for Enhancing Energy

Efficiency and Consumption:
Plan for GK Sites and Subsidiaries
U W I
R E S E A R C H
High electricity consumption at its Harbour Street

headquarters in Kingston has been a longstanding
concern for Grace Kennedy (GK) Limited. In 2011,
for example, electricity cost was a significant
part of GKs budget. The percentage change in
energy consumption, with reference to the lowest
monthly consumption, was more than about 10%
for many months. In addition, fuel and IPP charges
fluctuated and together these charges greatly
contributed to the monthly gross bill.
UWIPHYSICS which constitutes the Physics
Alternative Energy group and the UWI Energy
Conservation Project Office conducted a study
at GK Headquarters in March 2012 following
a request from the Chief Executive Officer of GK
Foods division. To this end, GK and UWI signed
an MOU in January 2012 which was followed
by a proposal outlining the activities. The project
required that we: examine ways and means of
increasing energy efficiency and conservation;
explore ways of reducing electrical energy
consumption and hence cost; explore the use of
renewable energy resources; select appropriate
systems and technology that would allow for
the automation of processes which would lead
to a reduction in energy usage; examine the
relevance of UWIs successful Energy Management
Programme for adaptation to GK-specific contexts;
enhance capacity building through training of GKs
technical staff; and provide work experience for
student workers.
The project was designed to have three
components for near, medium, and long term
horizons as follows: an electrical energy audit;
implementation of energy conservation and
efficiency opportunities (ECOs); and, development
of an automated Brain to help GK monitor
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power consumption in real-time and adjust to

future challenges through forecasts of the electrical
energy consumption, the alternative energy
available, and climate conditions (Temperature and
Humidity will have an impact on the AC usage).
Component one constituted an energy audit,
which was completed in September 2012.
Component two is expected to be launched soon,
and component three thereafter. In component
one, assessments of power consumption by
air conditioning systems (ACs), lighting, and
equipment including computers were done.
Additionally, the status of the ACs, light fixtures,
condition of the headquarters building envelop,
climate (temperature and relative humidity) inside
the building and occupancy level were assessed.
The audit pointed to ways in which energy was
being utilized within the building; inefficiency
of the ACs because they were suboptimal;
inefficient systems and mechanisms utilized
to regulate building climate and indoor air
quality; inferior lighting technology and
configurations; and, the need to create
awareness among the GKs staff in
energy management. As a first step,
an energy metre was installed
in April under the advice and
guidance of UWIPHYSICS that
provided, among other
things, real time energy
consumption and
power demand
data (every
107
5 minutes).These data helped in the
establishment of energy and power
usage trends that were then studied
and analyzed in detail. Based on the
outcomes, 11 ECOs were recommended
by the UWIPHYSICS team, which are
expected to be implemented on a
phased basis. The total estimated savings
following the successful implementation
of ECOs will be about 34% relative to
the 2011 energy consumption. This is
expected to result in cost reduction and
therefore savings on electricity bills.
Component one of the project was very
successful and paved the way to enter
into partnership with one of the leaders
in the food industry and hopefully to
establish links with other industries on
issues related to energy conservation
and efficiency. It is relevant to state
that the GK staff warmly welcomed
UWIPHYSICS members and were eager
to extend the help to realize the aims of
the project.
Dr Dharmaratne Amarakoon,
Alternative Energy Group, Department
of Physics
Mr Stanley Smellie (C.E.M), UWI
Energy Conservation Project Office
(1) Alternative Energy Group;
(2) Energy Conservation Project Office
Collaborators:
Jean Francois Dorville(1); Eric Hall(2);
Kevin Mills(1); Darlene Field(1);
Cherri Ann Scarlett(1); Joni Hall(1);
Sanja Simmonds(1);
Andrew Johnson(1); Andre Grant(1);
Adrian Dunkley(1); Lauren Mia(1)]
108
F A C U L T Y
O F
SOCIAL
SCIENCES
R E S E A R C H
F O R
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110
U W I
R E S E A R C H
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DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS
Nadine
McCloud-Rose
Improved Nonparametric
Specification Tests for
Time-Series Data
U W I
R E S E A R C H
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U W I
R E S E A R C H
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Sharon Priestley &

Julian Devonish
The Transition of
Jamaican Women to
Adulthood
U W I
R E S E A R C H
Have you ever wondered how Jamaican women

manage to balance the responsibilities of school,
work, relationships, family formation and child
care, and still maintain good health?
In an effort to interrogate these issues, Drs. Julian
Devonish and Sharon Priestley crafted a research
project to develop a body of data which can be
used to adequately explore these issues as girls
make the transition from childhood to adulthood.
The study was designed using the framework of
life course theory, where childhood, adulthood
and old age are viewed as three important
stages of the life course. A longitudinal panel
study of 1,800 women in the age cohort 15-34
years, living in the Kingston Metropolitan Region
(Kingston, St. Andrew and St. Catherine) and
the rural parish of Clarendon were selected to
be followed-up for ten years. This will allow the
team to obtain a clear picture of fertility behavior
throughout the reproductive span (between
ages 15 and 44), and allow them to construct
estimates and projections regarding urban and
rural fertility and reproductive health behaviors.
The survey captures some of the key demographic
indicators which are essential in monitoring
Jamaicas progress towards developed country
status by 2030 (Vision 2030).
Pathways to Adulthood
Population changes in Jamaica between 2001
and 2011 suggest that over the next decade
changes in population size, distribution and
structure will be driven by population processes
mainly in Kingston, St. Andrew, St. Catherine and
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Clarendon. Movements in the rate of natural

increase and net migration also indicate that much
of this change will be driven by demographic
behaviors, especially those surrounding patterns
of family formation among persons within the
15-34 age group. Although among human
populations there is no single universal indicator
which marks the transition from childhood to
adulthood, this transition is generally observed
by a movement from a socially dependent to a
socially independent state of existence. Several
social benchmarks are commonly used to signal
the onset of adulthood. In most societies, the
time spent in school is viewed as preparation
to take on adult roles, while completing high
school, leaving home, entering the labour force,
establishing a union with the opposite sex,
sexual initiation and childbearing, are regarded
as some of the most pronounced indicators
that the transition to adulthood has at least
started. Within Caribbean societies, an
individual is legally regarded as an adult at
age 18. In Jamaica,
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116
the opportunity structures and social pressures
often force individuals to take on adult
responsibilities long before this age. Therefore
the speed at which an individual transitions
the childhood period and enters adulthood is
based on how quickly and how successfully
the individual traverses the social trajectories of
education, work, union and family formation.
The pathway taken by an individual does not
always follow a linear pattern of schooling, work
and family formation but varies across time and
according to related circumstances of social class,
residential
location,
age, gender and selfefficacy. The timing
of each event creates
a unique sequence
that, if followed, by a
large enough group
of individuals, can
have severe negative
or positive impacts on
a countrys efforts to
achieve
sustainable
development.
Reciprocal
relationships
between population and development
Two of the chief development indicators which
anchor the study are the patterns of work and
educational achievement of women. Both the
pursuit of a course of educational studies and formal
employment are deemed to be incompatible with
childbearing, as childbearing often leads to the
delay or truncation of educational pursuits and
labour force participation. Therefore a womans
aspirations for higher education, her level of

educational achievement, educational enrolment
and the demand for further education will have a
significant impact on fertility behaviour. In many
settings the ability of women to take advantage
of opportunities to improve their social and
economic wellbeing is linked to their low levels
of human capital.
Poverty, low levels of education, unemployment
and underemployment and a lack of decision
making autonomy, often place women at
risk for negative
reproductive health
outcomes, including
maternal mortality,
intimate
partner
violence,
STIs
including HIV and
AIDS and unwanted
and
mistimed
pregnancies.
The
extent
of
these
problems may be
i n t e rg e n e r a t i o n a l
and their causes and
consequences can
be better understood
in a study such as this.
Acknowledgement:
The project was funded by The United Nations
Population Fund and the Health Policy Project.
Dr Julian Devonish is a
Lecturer in Population Studies
and Research Methods in the
Department
of
Sociology,
Psychology and Social Work.
Dr Sharon Priestley is a Lecturer
in Demography and Statistics in
the Department of Sociology,
Psychology and Social Work.
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118
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Arlene
Bailey
Assessing the Role of

Telecentres in Social and
Economic Development
U W I
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Information and communication technologies

are being utilized in initiatives to support social
and economic development in communities
in developing countries. A key component
of community informatics initiatives has been
the development of public community access
points such as telecentres in communities. The
role of these telecentres in social interventions
has been expanding. Amid increasing calls
for solutions to meet global, regional and
national strategic imperatives in the area of
social and economic development, telecentres/
community access points are being utilized to
support several community initiatives. This role
has been spearheaded by partnerships among
many organizations - NGOs, CBOs, development
partners, private sector foundations, academic
institutions
and
government
agencies.
Community access points and programmes with
this focus have been developed by organizations
such as the Violence Prevention Alliance, ICT4D
Jamaica, Jamaica Sustainable Development
Network, the Universal Service Fund, The
Container Project, United Nations organizations
and private sector foundations such as the
Digicel, Jamaica National and LIME Foundations.
Recent dissertation research (Bailey, 2009)
examined the issues influencing usage of
telecentres in the Jamaican context, and revealed
several aspects which are involved in the usage
and sustainability of these initiatives. These
include the supportive environment, the creation
and strengthening of social ties and social
identity, particularly through intergenerational
F O R
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interactions, the possible economic and

entrepreneurial opportunities and the ability to
acquire and utilize information and skills.
Increasingly, community access initiatives are
being established in the Caribbean region to
empower under-served communities, bridge the
digital gap and enhance human development,
however they face issues of sustainability and
there have been calls for further research in this
area (ECLAC, 2007). Integrated approaches
which combine social and technical aspects
provides an important perspective from which to
examine these phenomena (Kling, 2000), since
such approaches can bring focus on interactions
among people, organizations and technologies
(Lamb, Sawyer & Kling, 2000).
This ongoing research work continues to
develop in collaboration with Professor
Ojelanki Ngwenyama, Director of the
Institute for Innovation and Technology
Management at Ryerson University in
Toronto, Canada.
Our earlier research recognized
that telecentres have identified
emerging needs in the
communities they serve,
and have adapted
the services they
provide
in
an effort
119
120
to meet these needs. These service offerings
include mobile community access points which
provide persons on the street corner with an
opportunity to learn computer and multimedia
skills, opportunities to develop community radio
stations, and posting of photos, music and videos
online to share information with the diaspora and
the global audience.
In subsequent work, we explored an emerging
role for telecentres that of community mediation
and violence prevention. Our research is based on
empirical observations
through a field study at
telecentres in Jamaica,
and an analysis of local
newspaper
articles.
We examined ways in
which these community
mediation and violence
prevention strategies
through telecentres may
support social inclusion
and
development
of social capital by
encouraging
the
formation of friendships
within
and
across
communities. Some programmes have been able
to expand the safe haven created in the telecentre
environs to the wider community. Other initiatives
have been able to assist the youth, encouraging
their participation in non-violent activities, and
continue to work within communities that have
internal conflicts. The evolving role of telecentres
in the area of peace-making suggests that the
factors explored in this study will be of benefit
to researchers, practitioners and communities in

telecentre implementations.
An exploration of the use of ICTs through
telecentres in the diaspora also yielded
interesting findings. Community access points,
in particular, play a role in the development and
integration of diasporic linkages. In this paper, we
examined these interactions through interviews
and observation of activities of members of
the diaspora at community organizations in
the city of Toronto. An important perspective
of
intersectionality
arises as a platform
for analysis given the
varied approaches
to integration and
communication
through
ICTs
that have to be
considered
based
on the characteristics
of
the
diaspora
community.
The current research
project
aims
to
further explore the
current and potential contribution of community
telecentres to social and economic development,
by assessing the factors that are available or
are required to encourage entrepreneurial
activities, such as the development of local
community content using mobile technologies
and making this accessible through various
media. Activities such as citizen journalism and
community multimedia productions may provide
economic opportunities, enhance

community spirit and facilitate
knowledge sharing on issues such
as care of the environment.
The project further seeks to identify
whether and how these activities
can be used in communicating
and building ties with the
Caribbean diaspora. Based on
this analysis, approaches and key
policy measures will be articulated,
with a focus on the supporting
interactions among stakeholders
in the area of information and
communications technologies for
development.
The research project further seeks
to provide an overview of these
activities in the Caribbean context,
through discussion with telecentre
stakeholders in selected Caribbean
countries.
The research outputs will present
an analysis of community access
initiatives and their current
or potential role in social and
economic development activities
in their communities. The project
hopes to contribute to dialogue
and action on these initiatives
through participatory research
The results of the research work
so far have been presented at
121
conferences and in journals on information
technology for development. There has also
been active participation in the Association for
Information Systems
Special Interest Group on Global Development.
The findings have generated interest, and
resulted in funding for further research. In
addition, interest in the research area provided
support for the decision to hold the IFIP 9.4 12th
International Conference on Social Implications of
Computers in Developing Countries in Jamaica in
May 2013, and for further collaboration with the
international research community in this area.
Dr Arlene Bailey is a Lecturer in the Department
of Sociology, Psychology and Social Work. Her
dissertation on telecentres received the UWI
Mona Most Outstanding Thesis Award in 2009.
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MONA SCHOOL OF BUSINESS & MANAGEMENT
Charlette
Donalds
The Construction of a Domain

Ontology for Criminal Investigation:
The Case of the Jamaican
Constabulary Force
U W I
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Jamaica continues to struggle with a high crime

rate and a downward trend in the clear-up rate
of these crimes. For instance, Jamaica reported
an estimated homicide rate of of 41.6 per 1000
people for 2011 (JCFSD, 2012). Further, the
crime clear-up rate for all reported majors crimes,
such as homicides, shootings and robberies,
declined between 1999 and 2011, moving from
51 per cent to only 28 per cent (JCFSD, 2010,
JCFSD, 2012). It is manifest from the low and
declining clear-up rate of major crimes that more
needs to be done to improve the effectiveness of
the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) in the area
of criminal investigations.
Three reasons are proposed as influencing
the low clear-up rate: 1) the JCF lacks critical
investigative and other capacities to effectively
fight crime (JCF Strategic Review Panel, 2008),
especially modern crimes that increasingly involve
the use of information and communication
technology (ICT); the use of ICT makes the
detection and prosecution of those behind
illicit acts difficult; 2) criminal investigations are
highly knowledge intensive, yet, there is a lack
of knowledge management (KM) tools within
the JCF to support investigators in their work
(Stewart and Mansingh, 2010); and, 3) crime
is now globalized or transnational, requiring
effective investigative collaboration between
units and between other local and international
law enforcement agencies; yet, existing tools and
ICT infrastructure within the JCF are inadequate
for sharing and collaboration and for using
knowledge to effectively combat crime.
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Knowledge is the most critical resource in police

investigations yet, managing knowledge in
this environment is challenging. For example,
Chen et al. (2002) point out that police
investigations are knowledge intensive and
time-critical and that knowledge management
in this environment presents a real challenge to
investigators. Additionally, police investigators
require vast amounts of knowledge/information
that are captured in or come from a variety of
sources.. For instance, Fraser (2004) reports
that knowledge/information required for use
in police investigations comes from incident
and crime scene investigator reports, witness
and suspect statements, tip lines, crime scene
photographs and drawings, fingerprints,
DNA, physical evidence (ballistics, tool marks,
blood spatters), informants, property tracking,
modus operandi and known associates. A
class of information systems, referred to as
knowledge management system (KMS), is
espoused for managing the varying types
of knowledge/information required
for use in police investigations. This
approach has been used successfully
to manage knowledge in other
crime domains. . For example,
the Hong Kong Police Force
implemented
AICAMS
(Artificial Intelligence
Crime Analysis and
Management
Systems),
123
124
to support police investigations in crime
areas such as breaking and entering, criminal
profiling and tracking serial killers (Brahan et al.,
1998). Likewise, the Tucson Police Department
implemented COPLINK Connect which allows
diverse police departments to successfully share
and manage knowledge required for crime
cases (Chen et al., 2002). However, there is little
effort to manage knowledge in the JCF. Using
Gottschalks (2006) four stage KMS growth
model, Stewart and Mansingh (2010) position
the JCF at an early stage one, where JCF officers
are just being provided
with end user tools
to improve personal
efficiency.
Donalds and OseiBryson (2006) have
proposed
a
KMS
architecture for the JCF
Criminal Investigation
Knowledge
System
(CRIKS).
When
instantiated,
CRIKS
would improve the
investigative capability
of the JCF , especially to
investigate more sophisticated crimes, and provide
the Force with the requisite ICT infrastructure
that would enable officers to actively exploit
knowledge and engage in effective investigative
sharing and collaboration.
For a KMS such as CRIKS to be effective, it must also
be able to store/retrieve knowledge/information
in varying formats required for criminal
investigations. Additionally, it must be able to

cater for multiple units and/or independent
investigative agencies. When multiple units
and/or independent agencies need to work
together to achieve a common goal, like in
criminal investigations, it is important to describe
the domain in a formal representation, that is,
an ontology. An ontology helps to create the
framework for the criminal investigation process.
Further, developing an ontology is akin to defining
a set of data and their structure for a KMS, such
as CRIKS, to use. In this research, we developed
a Crime Domain
Ontology for criminal
investigations
conducted by JCF
officers.
An ontology provides
a formal description
of a domain which
can be shared among
different applications
and expressed in a
language that can be
used for reasoning
(Noy, 2004).
In
such an ontology,
definitions of entities
or concepts and the relationships between
them are expressed in a so-called knowledge
representation language.
A knowledge
representation language allows machines to
reason with and about the meaning (semantics)
of these entities/concepts. These meanings
should reflect the shared understanding of the
entities/concepts between humans. Hence,
an ontology defines a formal common
vocabulary for researchers and

practitioners who need to share
information in an application
domain. Why would we want to
develop an ontology for criminal
investigations? Ontologies have
been identified as important
components of KMS (Rao and
Osei-Bryson, 2007, Sicilia et al.,
2006). Additionally, the ontology
ensures the proper knowledge
representation of the criminal
investigation domain.
The Crime Domain Ontology
proposed in this research is
developed based on interviews
with expert investigators within
the JCF, the inspection of various
reports and other documents
generated by JCF investigators
and the adoption of other
entities/concepts from existing
Organizational
and
Crime
Evidence ontologies. Developed
from the interviews are the
identification and definition of
important entities/concepts, and
their relationships, to the criminal
investigation process.
Other
important
entities/concepts,
such as Resource, Skill Set
and Knowledge, deemed
necessary to execute investigative
tasks, are adopted from an
Organizational ontology (Rao et
al. 2012). Forensic Evidence
125
and Biological Evidence, and their associated
sub-classifications, are entities/concepts adopted
from Crime Evidence ontology (Dzemydiene and
Kazemikaitiene, 2005). In order to identify other
entities/concepts, in future, additional interviews
with investigative experts will be conducted
and data mining techniques applied to criminal
investigation documents within the JCF.
References
BRAHAN, J., LAM, K. P., CHAN, H. & LEUNG,
W. 1998. AICAMS: Artificial Intelligence Crime
Analysis and Management System. KnowledgeBased Systems, 11, 355-361.
CHEN, H., SCHROEDER, J., HAUCK, R. V.,
RIDGEWAY, L., ATABAKHSH, H., GUPTA, H.,
BOARMAN, C., RASMUSSEN, K. & CLEMENTS,
A. W. 2002. COPLINK Connect: Information and
Knowledge Management for Law Enforcement.
Decision Support Systems, 34, 271-285.
DONALDS, C. M. & OSEI-BRYSON, K.-M. Criminal
Investigation Knowledge System: CRIKS. Hawaii
International Conference on System Sciences
(HICSS), 2006 Hawaii, USA. 1-9.
FRASER, C. 2004. Strategic Information Systems
for Policing. Available: www.leoprd.org/reading/
Strategic%20info%20systems%20for%20
policing.pdf [Accessed July 21, 2012].
GOTTSCHALK, P. 2006. Stages of Knowledge
Management Systems in Police Investigations.
Knowledge-Based Systems, 19, 381-387.
JCF STRATEGIC REVIEW PANEL. 2008. A New

Era of Policing in Jamaica: Transforming the
JCF. Strategic Review Report 2008 [Online].
Available: http://pcoa.gov.jm/files/jcf_strategic_
review_2008.pdf [Accessed March 12, 2012].
JCFSD. 2010. Major Crimes and Larceny
Committed in Jamaica for Years 1999 - 2009.
Available: http://www.jcf.gov.jm/sites/default/
files/MajorCrimes1999to2009.pdf
[Accessed
April 16, 2012].
JCFSD. 2012. Jamaica Constabulary Force
Annual Major Crime Statistics Review
(Provisional). Available: http://www.jcf.gov.
jm/sites/default/files/major_crime_review_
jan_01_-_december_31_2011_provisional.pdf
[Accessed September 14, 2012].
NOY, N. F. 2004. Semantic Integration: A Survey
of Ontology Based Approaches. SIGMOD
Record, 33, 65-69.
RAO, L. & OSEI-BRYSON, K.-M. 2007.
Towards Defining Dimensions of
Knowledge Systems Quality. Expert
Systems with Applications, 33, 368378.
SICILIA, M.-A., LYTRAS, M.,

RODRIGUEZ, E. & GARCIABARRIOCANAL,
E.
2006.
Integrating
Descriptions
of
Knowledge
Management
Learning Activities into Large
Ontological Structures: A Case
Study. Data & Knowledge
Engineering, 57, 111-121.
STEWART, H. & MANSINGH, G.
Using Knowledge Management
to Transform The Jamaica
Constabulary
Force.
SIG
GlobDev Third Annual Workshop,
December 2010 Saint Louis, USA.
126
U W I
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Garth Lipps , Gillian Lowe

& ROGER GIBSON
Parenting and Depressive

Symptoms among Adolescents
in Four Caribbean Societies
U W I
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127
Caribbean adolescents are at greater risk for

experiencing symptoms of depression than
adolescents in many other countries [1-5]. One
possible factor that may either help reduce or increase
this risk is parenting practices. Several researchers
have suggested that Caribbean parents typically use
harsh parenting strategies to guide their children
[6-8]. However, relatively little research has been
conducted examining if parenting practices are related
to Caribbean adolescents experience of depressive
symptoms. This project examined if different types
of parenting styles may be linked to adolescents
depressive symptoms among teenagers in Jamaica,
the Bahamas, St. Kitts and Nevis, and St. Vincent.
to higher symptoms of depression. However, the

relationship of parenting styles to depression scores
was not consistent across countries (p < .05).
Jamaican adolescents whose parents used either an
authoritarian parenting style or a neglectful parenting
style reported significantly higher depressive
symptoms than their peers in other countries whose
parents used the same parenting strategies. Further,
adolescents in St. Kitts and Nevis whose parents used
either an authoritative or a permissive parenting style
reported the lowest levels of depressive symptoms.
Adolescents attending the fourth form in Jamaica

(278), the Bahamas (217), St. Vincent (716), and St.
Kitts and Nevis (737) were asked to rate a variety of
strategies their parents may use to interact and guide
them (Lempers Parenting Practices Scale) as well
as their feelings of depression (the Beck Depression
Inventory-II). Using their ratings, adolescents parents
were characterized as using either Authoritative
parenting (High levels of warm caring and control),
Authoritarian parenting (a high level of punitive
control with little warmth), Permissive parenting (A
high level of warmth with little attempt to control
behaviour) or Neglectful parenting (Low levels of
warmth and little attempts to control behaviour).
Research Team: Garth Lipps 1, Gillian A. Lowe,

Roger C. Gibson2, Sharon Halliday 3, Amrie Morris 4,
Nelson Clarke5 & Rosemarie N. Wilson
1 Department of Sociology, Psychology and Social
Lowe GA, Lipps GE, Halliday S, Morris A,
Work, The University of the West Indies, Mona
Clarke N, Wilson RN: Depressive Symptoms
2 Department of Community Health and Psychiatry,
among Fourth Form Students in St. Kitts and
The University of the West Indies, Mona
Nevis High Schools. The Scientific World Journal:
3 Ministry of Health and the Environment,
Child Health & Human Development 2009, 9:
Government of St. Kitts and Nevis
149-157.
4 Ministry of Health, Government of St.
Maharaj RJ, Alli F, Cumberbatch K, Laloo P, Mohammed
Vincent and the Grenadines
S,
Ramesar A et al.: Depression among Adolescents,
5 School of Clinical Medicine and
Aged
13-19 Years, Attending Secondary Schools in
Research, The University of the West
Trinidad:
Prevalence and Associated Factors. West Indian
Indies Bahamas
Medical Journal 2008, 57: 352-359.
According to the adolescents, their parents used

a mixture of different parenting styles with the two
most popular styles being authoritative and neglectful
parenting (Chart 1). Nearly half (52.1%) of all
adolescents reported mild to severe symptoms of
depression with 29.1% reporting moderate to severe
symptoms of depression. In general, authoritative
and permissive parenting styles were both linked
with lower levels of depressive symptoms
while authoritarian and neglectful
parenting were linked
Parenting styles have a different association to

depressive symptoms across the islands of Jamaica,
the Bahamas, St. Kitts and Nevis and St. Vincent.
References
Lipps G, Lowe GA, Halliday S, Morris A,
Clarke N, Wilson RN: The Association
of Academic Streaming to Depressive
Symptoms in Adolescents Across Three
Caribbean Countries. Child & Adolescent
Mental Health 2010, 4: 1-10.
Lipps GE, Lowe GA, Morris A, Halliday
S, Clarke N, Wilson RN: School factors
associated with depression in a Jamaican
high school cohort. Journal of Black
Psychology 2009.
Lowe GA, Lipps GE, Abel W: Depression
Among Fourth-Form Students in Three
High Schools in Kingston, Jamaica.
Caribbean Journal of Psychology 2005, 2:
32-49.
Brown J, Johnson S. Childrearing and child participation in

Jamaican families. International Journal of Early Years Education 16,
31-40. 2008.
Grantham-McGregor S, Landman J, Desai P: Child rearing in poor urban
Jamaica. Child Care, Health and Development 1983, 9: 57-71.
Samms-Vaughan ME, Williams S, Brown J: Disciplinary practices among
parents of six year olds in Jamaica. In Caribbean Childhoods: From Research to
Action. Kingston, Jamaica: Ian Randle; 2005:56-81.
128
U W I
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MONA SCHOOL OF BUSINESS & MANAGEMENT
Derrick
Deslandes
Government of Spain Funds

Second Regional Agricultural
Workshop
U W I
R E S E A R C H
From October 8 to October 28, 2012, 20 participants

from across the region converged at the Sydney
Pagon Agricultural High School, formerly (ELIM) in
St. Elizabeth, for an intense Training of Producers
seminar with focus on protected agriculture, a joint
collaboration between the Government of Spain and
the Government of Jamaica through the Ministry of
Agriculture and Fisheries and the University of the
West Indies, Mona.
This three-week workshop was part of a larger project
for the establishment of a Centre of Excellence for
Advanced Technology in Agriculture (CEATA) to be
headquartered at the Sydney Pagon Agricultural
High School, in St. Elizabeth, Jamaica, but of regional
scope, within CARICOM. Training was provided by
consultants from the Spanish Institut de Recerca i
Tecnologia Agroalimentaries (IRTA), an institution
specializing in research and training.
The financial assistance to put on the training
programme was part of the CARICOM-Spain
Cooperation Programme and came about at a time
when food security was viewed as being critical to the
regions continued development. The main objective
of the programme is geared towards boosting the
competitiveness of the agricultural sector across the
region in order to meet an increasing demand for
high quality fruit and vegetables due to the expansion
of the local and tourism industries. It also aims at
broadening the regions export capacity.
Spain has had a long tradition and a strong record of
applying advanced technologies to agriculture, and
as a result has attained an international reputation
for the excellent quality of its products. Greenhouse
technology puts the focus on productivity and quality
while at the same time providing farmers with the
capacity to manage their crops thus reducing exposure
to the vagaries of weather and seasonality.
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129
In addition to the series of seminars on protected

agriculture, two hi-tech greenhouses have
been donated by Spain and are currently being
constructed in Manchester and St. Elizabeth to
enhance the applied research capabilities of the
Caribbean research community. Spanish experts are
on the island supervising the installation at these
greenhouses and they will guide local researchers
and technicians in their use. Spains funding of these
facilities together with sponsorship of the seminars is
estimated at US$800,000. The greenhouses are to be
managed by the University of the West Indies under
the guidance of Dr Derrick Deslandes.
The first training programme held in October 2011
targeted trainers from all CARICOM countries with a
view to enhancing the knowledge transfer of these
technologies throughout the region. However, the
second training programme was aimed at producers
from each member-State. The producers are expected
to replicate the newly- acquired knowledge in their
respective countries and thus generate a positive
impact on the regional agricultural production as
a whole.
In addition to the knowledge gained,

the workshop will also promote
regional integration, as all participants
were able to make useful professional
contacts and share opinions on the
challenges experienced in their own
countries.
The current focus on training farmers
in greenhouse technology and the
upgrading of the skillset of CARICOM
nationals fits in with UWI Monas long
term objective of assisting the Jamaican
and Caribbean agricultural sector
to achieve its full potential, thereby
improving food security, and the
income of farmers, while enhancing
the welfare of rural communities.
130
U W I
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DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT; INSTITUTE FOR GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY & GEOLOGY; OFFICE OF STUDENT SERVICES; SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
Lloyd Waller, Shakira Maxwell, Kevon Rhiney,

Anthony Harriott , Gavin Daley, Sonia Gatchair ,
Barry Chevannes, Stephen Johnson, & Shinique Walters
National Youth
Mainstreaming
Project
U W I
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131
134
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DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT
Jermaine
McCalpin
The Impact of Truth Commissions

on Crime and Violence:
A Comparative Assessment
U W I
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In 2011 I was the lead researcher for a UNDP

Commissioned study on truth telling mechanisms
and governance in Jamaica. One of the
questions asked of respondents was what is
the most significant problem in Jamaica today?
Forty six per cent answered crime and violence.
This confirmed what many researchers have
consistently found that research motivated the
author to assess whether or not truth telling
mechanisms; particularly truth commissions have
an impact on levels of crime and violence.
This project is a careful examination of the
institutional mechanism called a truth commission.
It aims to assess the moral and practical relevance
of truth commissions especially as it relates to
highlighting their potential in mitigating crime
and violence and strengthening the judicial/
justice apparatuses of Jamaica. It benefits from the
research on over 40 preceding truth commissions
as well as a pioneering study by the author on
the prospects for a Jamaican truth commission.
In most peoples eyes the South African Truth
Commission is observed as the paradigm case.
However, what is often missed are some of the
lessons learnt from this commission rather than
a myopic focus on the monumental nature
of its task or expectation. The study compares
the South African Truth and Reconciliation
Commission (TRC) with two truth commissions in
the Caribbean and provide projections regarding
the prospects for a third in Jamaica. The study
examined the paradigm truth commission and
compared it with a truth commission that was
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founded as its contemporary; the Haitian truth

commission but with significantly differing results,
with a truth commission that drew much of its
inspiration and language from the South African
TRC, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of
Grenada, and finally with Jamaica; a country that
has often had a truth commission suggested by
sections of civil society as means of interrogating
its political past. Ultimately, all four are deeply
divided societies that have been fractured
politically, economically, racially and otherwise.
One may protest that almost all societies have
strong elements of division. However, a deeply
divided society is characterized by greater levels
of division that often means that citizens see
themselves in parochial, esoteric ways rather
than as having bonds with every other person.
Some divisions are seasonal but they are no less
salient. They ebb and flow but never disappear,
such as the way in which rabid partisanship
(while declining) peaks around general
elections in Jamaica.
While there have been much general
research on truth commissions,
there is a paucity of research on
the social impact in societies
that have appropriated truth
commissions. This project
will bridge this lacuna
by focusing on
the measured
impact of
135
136
truth commissions to crime and violence primarily
through the mechanism of restorative justice.
Additionally, the literature on truth commissions
disproportionately focuses on truth commissions
that have been successful rather than on those
that have been weak or failed. My research is
a comparison of four truth commissions: South
Africa; that is often deemed a successful truth
commission, Haiti; a weak truth commission,
Grenada; a hidden truth commission and
Jamaica; a potential truth commission. I will reinterrogate the designation of the South African
truth commission as a successful one by utilizing
other criteria beyond its
appeal and admiration,
rather focusing on
whether the approach
of restorative justice that
most truth commissions
espouse,
has
any
impact on crime and
violence.
The research will build
on and widen the
knowledge
quotient
on truth commissions
by first, extending the
analysis to under-researched truth commissions
such as Grenada and Haiti. Second, it will
expand the assessment and impact debate on
truth commissions to incorporate the bearing
on crime and violence in societies that employ
such a mechanism. Third, it would build on the
erstwhile pioneering research on the prospects
and feasibility of a truth commission in Jamaica.
The research will provide stakeholders in

government and civil society with the necessary
information on how to proceed with this
important mechanism called a truth commission.
It will be especially relevant to the Ministry of
Justices programme and policy of Restorative
Justice as a critical part of its justice reform
efforts. I have worked on the national policy for
restorative justice in Jamaica, and that experience
has led me to conclude that there needs to be a
greater awareness of the relationship between
truth commissions and justice. This research will
also be critical to civil society, the church through
the Jamaica Council
of Churches and the
Churches Umbrella
Group have been
a critical part
of
the
preliminary
research and also
stand to benefit. This
expected benefit is
primarily in the way
of providing church
leaders and their
congregants with a
more comprehensive
understanding
of
truth commissions beyond just the importance
of truth telling. Other stakeholders in civil society
will also benefit from this research. Preliminary
findings have been presented to the Jamaica Civil
Society Coalition and additional opportunities
will be created to broadcast this research.
The JCSC represents a wide cross

section of nongovernmental
interests and emerged in the
aftermath of the May 2010 military
incursion into West Kingston.
Coincidentally,
the
UNDP
sponsored research on truth
commissions and governance
was initiated in the wake of this
political crisis. The UNDP has
also offered critical support to the
JCSC initiative. These three civil
society partners and the Jamaican
government will benefit from
the findings of this research. In
this collaborative effort lies the
prospect for finding solutions to
the vexing problem of crime and
violence and ultimately mitigating
its impact on development.
Dr Jermaine McCalpin, is a
Lecturer of Transitional Justice and
Political Institutions in the
Department of Government,
Mona. His research interests
include truth commissions and
political accountability, as well
as reparations for slavery, Native
American extermination and the
Armenian genocide.
137
138
CENTRES
&
INSTITUTES
R E S E A R C H
F O R
2 0 1 2
139
142
143
144
U W I
R E S E A R C H
F O R
2 0 1 3
INSTITUTE FOR GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT STUDIES
Leith
Dunn
Study on the Situation of

Domestic Workers in
Jamaica
U W I
R E S E A R C H
Domestic workers provide essential services that

enable many women and men in paid employment
to meet their work and family responsibilities.
Their work is however undervalued, underpaid,
unprotected and poorly regulated (ILO, 2010).
Global ILO estimates note that there were
53.5million domestic in 2010, with 85% of them
being women. In the Caribbean, one fifth of
women in employment are domestic workers.
The exact number for Jamaica is unknown.
Jamaica has played a strategic leadership role
contributing to ILOs adoption of Convention 189:
Decent Work for Domestic Workers, at the 100th
International Labour Conference in Geneva in
June 2011. This study supports domestic workers
rights to: jobs that pay a decent wage; good
working conditions & social protection; organise
and form an association; and participation in
social dialogue to promote workers rights.
The research was required to fill the information
gap on these informal sector workers and provide
data to estimate the size, characteristics and
problems affecting domestic workers in Jamaica.
The data was needed to support ratification of
C189 and to guide policies, programmes and laws
to ensure consistency with the ILOs Decent Work
Agenda.
The UWIs Institute for Gender and Development
Studies Mona Campus Unit conducted a small
exploratory study on the Situation of Household
Workers in Jamaica in 2011 to guide the
development of a larger study. The research team
was led by Dr Leith Dunn and research partners
included: the ILO Caribbean Office, which funded
the study; the Jamaica Household Workers
Association (JHWA), the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung
and the Womens Resource and Outreach
Centre (WROC).
F O R
2 0 1 3
The study was designed to determine: the social

and economic profile and situation of domestic
workers; estimated numbers; employment levels;
working conditions and risks; the governments
challenges to monitor their workplaces; gaps
in the legal framework to protect the rights of
domestic workers as women and as workers;
national challenges to ensure consistency with
ILOs Decent Work Agenda; the number of
JHWA members and to clarify if any were victims
of internal human trafficking; the institutional
mechanisms needed to promote Decent Work
and improve the quality of employment; provide
access to social protection, guarantee labour
rights and improve representation of household
workers.
The researchers collected and analyzed data
from a questionnaire administered to a nonrandom sample of 77 female household
workers in Kingston and Mandeville, focus
group discussions, interviews with various
stakeholders, observations of JHWA meetings,
documents and data from the Ministry of
Labour and Social Security (MLSS), the
Statistical Institute of Jamaica, (STATIN)
the JHWA and the ILO among others.
The main limitation was the
inability to generalize findings
as the study was based
on a small non-random
sample, in the absence
of an established
database from
which
to
145
146
select a statistically representative sample. HHW
(Household Workers) registration and development
of a data base, can help to develop a national
representative sample of domestic workers for
follow-up research.
Most women were 25-65 years: urban women
were older (35-44 years and 55-64 years) and rural
women were younger. Most women had primary
or secondary education but for many, literacy levels
were low. Over half of the rural women (57%)
and almost a third (31%) of the urban women
were single and heads of households.
Only 23% and 42% of the rural and urban women,
respectively,
were
employed. Duties were:
cleaning;
washing;
cooking; ironing; and
care-giving.
Working
conditions:
Rich
narratives
of
womens
experiences
show
inconsistencies
with C189 although
there were exceptions.
Risk factors were: limited
work contracts which
increased risks of abuse
and
dismissal;
low
wages as two thirds of
women (67%) earned
above the Minimum Wage (MW) (J$4,500
(US$52.33) per week for a 40-hour work week,
but one-third earned minimum wage or below.
Most women worked eight (8) hours daily. Over
a quarter (26%) of the urban women however,
worked more than eight hours but were not paid
overtime rates. Most women spend their money on
Food; Transportation; Education; and Health. Few
pay statutory payments like NIS, NHT and Income
tax, limiting their access to social protection. All
reported a major gap between wages and
expenses and the need for additional income

(J$10,000 - $50,000)/ US$116.28- US$581.40).
Perceptions of respect were reported by 52.5% of
the urban women and all the rural sample.
Reports came from urban women (51%) and
(27%) of the rural sample. Main problems were:
sexual harassment; verbal or physical abuse; Non/
short- payment of wages and; unfair dismissal.
Ministry of Labour had limited capacity to monitor
working conditions because of legal barriers
which denied Labour Inspectors access to private
homes. These varied:
a) 58,000-60,000 (MLSS Statistics Unit, 2011);
b) 58,500 (Economic
and Social Survey
of Jamaica, 2010);
c) 100,000 ( JHWA
2 0 1 1 ) . J H WA
members:
2000
members
(2012);
1600 (2011) and
1200 (2010) with
chapters
being
established.
Migrant
Workers:
HHW can work in the
CSME market.
Legal
Framework.
No
labour
laws
specifically protect HHWs rights but several laws
provide some protection. Jamaica could ratify
C189 and have 12 months to introduce legal
reforms. Most workers consulted were not aware
of labour laws to protect their rights.
Research findings reflect:
a) gaps between the womens lives and C189,
CEDAW commitments and the NPGE, leading
to the recommendation to urgently ratify and
implement C189;
b) the feminization of poverty

characterized by high female
unemployment; and low wages
(inadequate to meet family
living expenses, and increased
risks of child labour and human
trafficking);
c) Social Protection - low
compliance hence, the need to
increase registration, access and
coverage.
Working conditions: these reflect
gender and class inequalities;
limited legal protection and access
to womens rights such as; paid
vacation and sick leave; some
work overtime without pay. Most
HHWs are self-employed in the
informal sector with no formal
contracts. A few women reported
sexual harassment, disrespect
from employers, unfair dismissal
and unpaid wages.
a) Freedom of association
and recognition of the right
to collective bargaining; in
principle, HHWs have freedom
of association and the JHWA
represents their interests, but not
in practice, as the JHWA was not a
bargaining unit and membership,
while growing was far below the
estimated national numbers.
b) Elimination of all forms of
forced or compulsory labour; no
reports of forced or compulsory
labour but of sexual harassment
and some duties inconsistent with
the role of a household worker.
147
(e.g. cleaning the dogs teeth).
c) Effective abolition of child labour/trafficking:
Some HHWs reported being victims of child
domestic labour (internal human trafficking from
rural to urban areas) and being used as HHWs.
d) Elimination of discrimination in respect of
employment and occupation; discrimination
against HHWs persists but the occupation is gaining
more respect.
e) Tri-partism & social dialogue JHWA participates
in social dialogue with tripartite partners:
Government/MLSS and; the Jamaica Employers
Federation; the Jamaica Confederation of Trade
Unions, and international partners (ILO, Friedrich
Ebert Stiftung, UN Women), and civil society
partners in the womens movement and academia
(UWI/IGDS Mona).
The JHWA was formed in 1991. It has visionary
and effective leadership, and its membership is
growing but institutional resources are limited. The
MLSS also needs a mechanism to monitor working
conditions of HHWs.
Recommendations to promote the Principles of
C 189
1. The JHWA should:
a) continue lobbying for ratification of C189, legal
reforms and a Code of Conduct for Employers;
b) expand skills training programmes for members;
c) increase public education;
d) expand membership and encourage registration
for social protection provided by NIS, NHT and the
Programme for Advancement Through Health and
Education (PATH) to reduce HHWs risk of poverty;
2. The Government of Jamaica should:
a) Urgently ratify C189, and
accelerate legal reforms to ensure compliance;

b) organize a national registration campaign to
create a household workers database;
c) approve JHWA application for registration
as a trade union/bargaining unit to represent
household workers;
f) fund JHWA for institutional strengthening; and
capacity building programmes and a national
study.
Importance of the study on domestic workers for
national development This study supports several
national development goals:
a) poverty reduction strategies as these workers
are part of the low-wage, low-skills informal
economy; many women are single female heads
of household whose families are at risk of child
labour, human trafficking, child abuse and crime,
due to inadequate supervision.
b) gender equality, consistent with the National
Policy for Gender Equality (2011) which includes
womens political and economic empowerment
and the need for future research to assess the
economic and social value of household
work in national income statistics.
c) public awareness and policy research.
Research findings are being prepared
for an academic publication. They
also guide national and regional
advocacy
and
public
education campaigns to
ratify C189 across the
Caribbean. Results
were presented
at the
launch of the Caribbean Domestic

Workers
Network (CDWN) in
Barbados in 2011, the inaugural
commemoration of Decent Work
for Domestic Workers Day in
Jamaica on October 7 2011 and
a JHWA rally on December 15
2012 to lobby for ratification of
C189 and the launch of seven
branch chapters. The study also
provides a framework to guide the
development of a large national
research study.
Dr Leith Dunn is Senior Lecturer/
Head of the Institute for Gender
and Development Studies, Mona
Unit and conducts gender-related
policy research to support equitable
development in the Caribbean.

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RESEARCH FOR DEVELOPMENT 2013

THE CARIBBEAN INSTITUTE OF MEDIA & COMMUNICATION

Livingston White, Maria Protz

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Crystal Blake, Crystal Hylton (Supervisor), Dale

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Natalie Corthesy &

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The new Jamaican Birth Cohort Study 2011,

cohort children were enrolled

brain development. Fifth, geomapping techniques are being

and on the factors that promote and prevent

The JAKIDS study is collaborating with researchers

DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY HEALTH & PSYCHIATRY

Study of Older Persons

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includes dementia and depression. From the

Another area of interest is health. Jamaica like the

All ageing societies are experiencing an increase

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DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY, PSYCHOLOGY & SOCIAL WORK

HIV Vulnerabilities of Migrant

The Caribbean, a region with high migration

specifically focussed on migrant sex workers