Thesis (PH. D)--Johns Hopkins University, 1905. / Added t.p.: "The Geographical society of Baltimore. The Bahama Islands ed. by George Burbank Shattuck ... The Johns Hopkins press. New York, The Macmillan & co., ltd., 1905. "Special publication from The Bahama Islands by permission of the Geographical society of Baltimore."

This study examined the ‘intended’ curriculum and the processes of its translation into classroom practices. The ‘intended’ curriculum is the rhetoric incorporated in state documents of the independence era in The Bahamas. These state documents included three key general educational policy documents in which policy makers presented persuasive arguments and strategies for the nation’s development, and the curriculum guides based on these earlier policy documents. Since these documents represent the educational intentions and objectives of the nation, it was assumed that an examination of their rhetoric would produce a portrait of the government’s ‘independence plan.’ However, because one cannot assume that rhetoric is translated into practice, this study also examined the extent to which teachers in the Bahamian Primary School System have translated this ‘independence plan’ into their contemporary practices. The methods of investigation included documentary analysis, participant observation, informal interviews with classroom teachers and other Ministry of Education officials, and a teacher questionnaire. The documentary analysis revealed a continuity of themes ran throughout the major educational documents. Foremost among these themes were the move toward the Bahamianisation of the educational system, the production of indigenous materials, the recognition of the classroom teacher as central in the reform process, and the importance of communication between policy makers and teachers. Field investigations revealed a divergency between the rhetoric of the educational policy documents and the practices within the contemporary educational context. The study identified five major factors that influence the success of the curriculum implementation process. These factors include resources, support services, the internal dynamics of the school context, assessment practices, and the personal backgrounds and professional experiences of teachers. The evidence reported in the study pointed to several components that would enhance success in the implementation of the intended curriculum. The question of resource availability, specifically resources of an indigenous nature, was the most significant issue uncovered by this study. In addition, the need for a more collaborative support network for teachers was evident. Finally, the study highlighted the importance of two components that are directly related to the formulation of policy. These include the need for policy makers to use teacher experience and insight, and be more cognizant of the factors that have an impact, both internally and externally, upon the school context.

This study examined the ‘intended’ curriculum and the processes of its translation into classroom practices. The ‘intended’ curriculum is the rhetoric incorporated in state documents of the independence era in The Bahamas. These state documents included three key general educational policy documents in which policy makers presented persuasive arguments and strategies for the nation’s development, and the curriculum guides based on these earlier policy documents. Since these documents represent the educational intentions and objectives of the nation, it was assumed that an examination of their rhetoric would produce a portrait of the government’s ‘independence plan.’ However, because one cannot assume that rhetoric is translated into practice, this study also examined the extent to which teachers in the Bahamian Primary School System have translated this ‘independence plan’ into their contemporary practices. The methods of investigation included documentary analysis, participant observation, informal interviews with classroom teachers and other Ministry of Education officials, and a teacher questionnaire. The documentary analysis revealed a continuity of themes ran throughout the major educational documents. Foremost among these themes were the move toward the Bahamianisation of the educational system, the production of indigenous materials, the recognition of the classroom teacher as central in the reform process, and the importance of communication between policy makers and teachers. Field investigations revealed a divergency between the rhetoric of the educational policy documents and the practices within the contemporary educational context. The study identified five major factors that influence the success of the curriculum implementation process. These factors include resources, support services, the internal dynamics of the school context, assessment practices, and the personal backgrounds and professional experiences of teachers. The evidence reported in the study pointed to several components that would enhance success in the implementation of the intended curriculum. The question of resource availability, specifically resources of an indigenous nature, was the most significant issue uncovered by this study. In addition, the need for a more collaborative support network for teachers was evident. Finally, the study highlighted the importance of two components that are directly related to the formulation of policy. These include the need for policy makers to use teacher experience and insight, and be more cognizant of the factors that have an impact, both internally and externally, upon the school context. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

In The Bahamas between the years 2,000 to 2007, the percentage of single mothers under the age of 20 years accounted for 11.3 – 12.7% of all births in the country. Mothers between the ages of 10 -14 years accounted for 0.1 – 0.4 % of all births and mothers age 15 -19 years accounted for 11.2 – 12.6% of all births during the same time period. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the level of empowerment among pregnant adolescents living in The Bahamas aged 18-19 years by testing the levels of autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, relationship with others, purpose in life and religiosity. The findings of the study may well be used to highlight areas for future research in pregnancy prevention programs for adolescents in The Bahamas. Sample: The sample for this study was 105 pregnant adolescent females 18 and 19 years of age attending ante-natal clinics in The Bahamas. Measures: The self- administered questionnaires included demographic information, obstetric history, Ryff’s Scales of Psychological Well-Being and Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith. Analyses: Data collected from the questionnaires were entered into SPSS for analysis. Descriptive statistics was obtained. Correlation analysis was performed to determine the significance among demographic data and levels autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, relationship with others, purpose in life and religiosity. Multiple regression analysis was performed to determine the variance explained between the number of pregnancies and level of health empowerment. Results: The Pearson’s correlation was calculated to answer the research questions of the relationship of level of autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, relationship with others, purpose in life, self acceptance, religiosity and overall health empowerment with number of pregnancies of 18 and 19 year old pregnant females. Number of pregnancies was negatively correlated with all dimensions of psychological well-being, religiosity and overall empowerment. Due to the small number in the sample with repeated pregnancy (19 of 105) the correlations were not statistically significant, except personal growth. Number of pregnancies was negatively correlated but not statistically significant with personal growth. Number of pregnancies was negatively correlated and statistically significant with current enrollment in school. Pregnancy outcome and delivery type were positively correlated and statistically significant with number of pregnancies. Overall health empowerment levels was negatively correlated with history of depression and positively correlated with religiosity. Level of education and religiosity were positively correlated and statistically significant to the level of health empowerment for the adolescents in this study. Conclusions: Based on the results of this study, level of education and religiosity are predictors of levels of health empowerment and type of delivery and the outcome of the pregnancy are predictors to the number of pregnancies in pregnant adolescents 18 and 19 years old in The Bahamas.

This is the life history of Rend Percente from Little Farmer's Cay, Exuma, Bahamas. When the University of Arizona-College of the Bahamas research team visited Little Farmer's Cay during the Bahamas Biocomplexity Project, Rend asked the team to record his story. This document reflects this effort.

Photocopy of typescript. / Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1978. / Bibliography: leaves 186-189. / Microfiche. / vii, 189 leaves map

Communication has been identified as a critical component in the outcome of emergency response. Post-mortems of “what went wrong” in disaster responses often point toward breakdown in communication between first responders, those directing rescue efforts, and the general population as one of the primary impediments to rendering timely aid and communicating adequate safety and weather information. Due to the high resilience, relatively low costs, and advanced features of modern hand-held communication devices, these devices are in a position to drastically improve communication flow during emergency management situations. Due to the lack of official implementation of these devices and the lack of the establishment of standard guidelines for device selection, the use of hand-held communication devices in emergency management is yet to be optimized. Island nations such as the Bahamas, which face unique challenges in regard to emergency management due to geographical, infrastructural, political, and cultural hurdles which are found in the region, can especially benefit from the optimized implementation of hand-held communication devices in emergency management. This study examined current emergency response procedures in The Bahamas, created a baseline for the current use of hand-held communication devices by Bahamian emergency management officials and civilians, identified the communication needs of Bahamian emergency management officials and civilians, and proposed a model for the selection of handheld communication devices based upon human factors principals and focusing on user priorities. This study began with a focus group interview which included 14 Bahamian emergency management officials in order to gain an understanding of current Bahamian emergency response iv procedures and the communication challenges faced by emergency management officials during high consequence emergencies. A paper based survey was conducted, in which 31 Bahamian emergency management officials answered demographic, skill level, and functionality questions related to the use of hand-held communication devices to support emergency related activities including those directed toward preparation, mitigation, and response. These emergency management officials provided invaluable input based upon their practical experience in high consequence emergency situations. 155 Bahamian civilians participated in a similar survey which was a reduced version of the survey used for emergency management officials. Both surveys included questions in regard to the background information of the participants, previous handheld communication experience, device performance, and what other communication devices were being utilized. The surveys were analyzed using statistical methods of categorical data analysis and correlations were identified. Several communication needs which were categorized as infrastructure, organizational, and equipment needs as well as a hierarchy of device selection factors in regard to the use of hand-held communication devices during emergency management situations were identified. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was used in order to determine the priorities of each of the identified device selection factors and a model for the selection of hand-held communication devices used to support communication flow in high consequence emergency management was proposed.

Reliable measurements of the thermodynamics of the carbonate system are needed to better understand the CO2 system in natural waters. New measurements of the carbonic acid pK1* and pK2* in seawater have been made over a wide range of temperatures (1 to 50°C) and salinities. The commonly used CO2 constants of Mehrbach et al., (1973) were limited to salinities (19 to 43) and temperatures (2 to 35°C). They cannot be used to study estuarine or fresh waters. The results of these measured pK1* and pK2* values are in good agreement with those determined using the Miami Pitzer equations (Millero and Pierrot, 1998). The results in this dissertation can be demonstrates the validity of the model that can be used to study the carbonate system in most natural waters. The so called Miami model is presently being used to examine the effect of ocean acidification on natural waters. The boric acid effect on the dissociation constants in seawater and NaCl solutions was tested. The addition of boric acid has little or no effect on pK1* values. However, the values of pK2*, decreases with the addition of small amounts of boric acid to ASW in agreement with the work of Mojica-Prieto and Millero, (2002). The addition of larger concentrations of boric acid cause the values of pK2* to increase. These effects have been attributed to the interactions of boric acid with the carbonate ion (CO32-) in seawater (Mojica-Prieto and Millero, 2002). The addition of boric acid to NaCl solutions in contrast, caused the values of pK1* and pK2* to decrease. This has been attributed to the interactions of borate ions with Mg2+ and Ca2+ in seawater. Further measurements in Na-Mg-Cl and Na-Ca-Cl solutions are needed to prove that this is the case. The boric acid effect on the carbonate constants indicate that an increase in boric acid has no affect on pK1*, but does change the values of pK2*. At low concentrations of boric acid, pK*2 decreases, and at higher concentrations it increases. These results indicate that boric acid has some ionic interactions with the carbonate ion. Similar studies in NaCl indicate that both pK1* and pK2* decrease when boric acid is added. The differences between seawater and NaCl may be related to the interactions of Mg2+ and Ca2+ with borate anions. Further studies of NaCl with additions of MgCl2 and CaCl2 are needed to examine the effects in detail. Preliminary studies on the effect of DOC on the carbonate constants are not definitive. The change of the DOC concentration from 50 to 100 µmol kg-1 has little effect on the values of pK1* and pK2*. Dilutions of seawater with artificial seawater are complicated by changes in the concentration of boric acid. Earlier studies indicated that DOC may cause the 8 mu-mol kg-1 increase in total alkalinity of seawater needed to balance the thermodynamics of the system (Millero et al., 2002). This may be partially due to the new values for the B/Cl ratio in seawater found by Lee et al., (2010) that increases the TA by ~ 6 µmol kg-1. Further studies are needed to examine the effect of humic compounds in estuarine waters on the carbonate system. Measurements of pH or pCO2 along with TA and TCO2 can be used to separate the effect of organic ligands on TA. If DOC measurements are also made, one can relate the effect to organic ligands that can accept a proton. The cruises in the Little Bahama Banks show for the first time the active precipitation of CaCO3 (Bustos-Serrano et al., 2009). This causes measured decreases of TA, TCO2 and pH and increases in pCO2 in the whitings. This is in contrast to earlier studies on the Grand Bahama Banks where no active precipitation of CaCO3 was every found (Morse et al., 2003; Millero et al., 2005). The differences appear to be due to the movement of fresh saturated seawater from the Gulf Stream into the LBB. The Gulf Stream water enters the GBB in the winter, and the precipitation occurs on the suspended sediment over the year. Observations are needed on the Grand Bahama Banks in the winter and throughout the year to prove that this is the case.

No description available.

The Bahamas are thousands of islands stretching along the coast of Florida and south to the tropic of cancer. An aerialv iew, spectaculaar s it is, shows only a small part of the islands, a larger part is submerged and discernible only by the abundance of blue dots onshorea nd in the shallow water around the islands. The blue holes are entrancesto an underwater world wherein biology seems to have slowed down to offer a fascinating view of species rarely seen elsewhere, and of rock formations that tell a story of the subterranianw orld below the islands. My studies were inspired by curiosity and the desire to make a contribution to the preservationo f this unique and irreplaceablew indow into the pastf or geologistsa nd biologists alike. Important questions as to how the caves formed and when and what the role of cavel ife might havep layed in the excavationp rocessesa re addressedin this thesis. As a result of these studies bacteria must be considered as possibly active participantsi n the formation processesa fter the time when the rising watertablef looded all the Bahamian caves. The layering, often in hypersharp zones of biological material, matches or is perhaps caused by, equally dramatic changes in hydrogen ions and acetate and sulphate concentrations. In both caves, pH profiles were observed that varied sharply over very short distances. In all three study sites it could be shown that, vertically and horizontally, the geochemical perimeters varied dramatically. Organically mediated processes are a dominant control on dissolution within the fresh, mixing, and saline zone. The combined generationof C02 results, known from earlier studies, and 112S and other bacterially measured activity, supports this finding. Retention of suspended organic matter was directly proportional to the salinity gradient. Elevated levels of DOC, POM, and acetate at the two major density interfaces confirm this finding. In the results, generated from CHN&S methods, wall rock material was found to contain residual carbon for potential microbial use, and large bacterial populations were identified through the SEM method in excess of what was measured within the water column. Significant lepidocrocite deposits (dimorphose iron oxihydroxide) were identified as a fraction of the cave sediment, and material known as "mung7, based on amino-acid analysis, was shown to be proteinaceous. This mung appears to be unique to caves in the Bahamas. In a sense the cave system is an underground geo-biosphere wherein the peculiar water flow patterns foster a specific, sometimes rich and unusual, fauna and flora that is a treasure for science and a sight for humans to enjoy.