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<p> Tobagonian fathers are leaving their homes whether due to separation, infidelity, or divorce. As a result of fathers absent from the homes, young men on the island of Tobago are increasing in defiant behavior patterns and displaying more violence in the schools. Research indicates that the child&rsquo;s ability to thrive and excel is affected by the presence or absence of the father. Therefore, this qualitative case study included interviews and a focus group conducted with 10 Tobagonian fathers to gain their perspectives on being absent from the home and the effect of this absence on their sons specifically. Two of the most important findings were that Tobagonian fathers were well aware of their sons being affected due to their father absence and they actually wanted to make a significant difference in their sons&rsquo; lives. Recommendations for future study include initiating support groups for fathers by fathers, in which they can discuss struggles, problems, and issues as well as conducting case studies with mothers and grandmothers focusing on their perceptions as to absent fathers from the home and its effect on young Tobagonian males.</p>

<p> This convergent parallel mixed-methods study was conducted to examine the attitudes of emergency medical services (EMS) stakeholders based on the &ldquo;EMS Agenda for the Future.&rdquo; A sample of 104 accident and emergency (A&amp;E) doctors, prehospital EMS providers, and A&amp;E nurses in Barbados participated. The tripartite model of attitudes (beliefs, affect, and behavior) was used as the theoretical underpinning. Data collected using electronic surveys and information from semi-structured interviews were analyzed. affect and belief measures exists across the three groups of EMS stakeholders. The application of regression models confirmed that a significant relationship between affect and belief measures of the EMS stakeholders existed. A significant relationship also exists between belief and behavior measures of prehospital EMS providers. This research places on improving public health by addressing the beliefs, affect, and behaviors of EMS stakeholders.</p><p>

The Rastafari have long transcended the place specificity that exclusively associated their movement with Jamaica following the earlier days of its inception in the 1930's and have envisioned themselves as a nation beyond national, linguistic, and cultural boundaries. They have crossed and challenged these boundaries by establishing extensive networks that form the essence of an ever-growing diaspora. This dissertation examines how, in recent years, the Rastafari have sought to organize, centralize, and formalize their movement by engaging in nation-building processes at both local and transnational levels. To analyze the dynamics at work, I look at the vision, practices, and endeavors put forth by the Solidarity Churchical Organization of St. Martin and argue that the congregation members' commitment to nation building and the ways in which they realize it are unique and pioneering amongst the Rastafari Using the performance of the Seven Sacraments and---most recently---a large-scale farming project as their vehicle to consolidate the Rastafari Nation and guarantee its perpetuation in future generations, Solidarity members' relentless engagement in nation building relies on the cohesive structure of their foundation and the services they provide at the local level. Outside of St. Martin, Solidarity's transnational involvement is facilitated by frequent travels and participation in international Rastafari organizations. Opportunities to encounter bredrins and sistrens from different countries and continents function to crystallize a sense of collective memory, communal values, and shared identity amongst the Rastafari. Yet they also embody many of the tensions that ensue from dissent regarding what defines Rastafari in terms of spiritual orientations, practices, as well as gender roles and race A crucial premise of this work is that, when applied to the Rastafari, notions of nation building and transnationalism do not contradict each other but rather coexist in new spaces of identity defined by changing human landscapes in which people seek to maintain connections and claims to identities beyond localized geographies / acase@tulane.edu

<p><italic>Virgin Capital</italic> explores the impact of the Economic Development Commission (EDC) program in the US Virgin Islands and asks, "How do contemporary circulations of capital and people alternately build upon and complicate long-present hierarchies?" This dissertation approaches the EDC, a tax holiday program that has attracted a number of primarily American bankers to the island of St. Croix, as a space in which struggles over quasi-offshore capital produces tensions rooted in race, class, color, gender, and generation. These clashes surrounding `appropriate' financial and social investment have both integrated St. Croix into the global financial services market and produced a great deal of tension between EDC community and residents of St. Croix. Moreover, the presence of this program has generated new categories of personhood that in turn have sparked new debates about what it means to `belong' in a territory administered by the United States. These new categories of personhood are particularly gendered and alternately destabilize and shore up long-standing hierarchies of generation, gender, and place. </p> <p>The ethnographic basis of <italic>Virgin Capital</italic> is 16 months of fieldwork I conducted on St. Croix, USVI. Throughout the dissertation, I bring academic writing together with the perspectives of Crucians and `EDC people.' These interviews, both formal and informal, are central to this project as they make clear the ambivalent positioning of the EDC program and its participants in the current moment of increasingly global circulations.</p> / Dissertation

<p>This dissertation examines Haiti's crucial role in the re-making of the Atlantic World in the early 19th century. The point of departure for this work is Haiti's Declaration of Independence in 1804 and my research explores how events in Haiti raised profound questions about revolutionary legitimacy and national sovereignty. The emergence of Haiti as an independent nation fueled unprecedented international debates about racial hierarchy, the connections between freedom and sovereignty, and the intertwining of ideological and political relationships among nations and empires. While these debates came to be resolved in part during the next two centuries, they remain alive today both for specific nations and for the international community.</p> / Dissertation

<p> Este estudio fue uno de tipo descriptivo. Su objetivo principal fue examinar los factores determinantes de los cambios demogr&aacute;ficos que est&eacute;n relacionados con los servicios complementarios en las escuelas p&uacute;blicas de Puerto Rico entre 1970 y 1990. En el mismo se describi&oacute;, la matr&iacute;cula y nivel escolar que utiliz&oacute; los servicios. Entre las variables se encuentran: orientaci&oacute;n, trabajo social, transferencias, m&eacute;dicos y comedor escolar. Igualmente, se analiz&oacute;, transportaci&oacute;n, escuelas y matr&iacute;cula por zonas geogr&aacute;ficas demarcadas por el Departamento de Educaci&oacute;n. Los indicadores principales fueron: el cambio porcentual del servicio y la matr&iacute;cula, el por ciento que utiliz&oacute; el servicio y la distribuci&oacute;n porcentual del servicio atendido. </p><p> Los resultados revelaron que un porcentaje considerable de los estudiantes matriculados en los tres niveles educativos utilizaba los servicios complementarios en las escuelas p&uacute;blicas de Puerto Rico durante el periodo de estudio. Estos fluctuaron desde -35.3 % de la matr&iacute;cula total en el servicio de comedores escolares hasta un 350.2 % en los servicios de trabajadores sociales. Observ&aacute;ndose, un incremento en los servicios ofrecidos por los trabajadores sociales y los orientadores. Una situaci&oacute;n adversa se reflej&oacute; para los servicios m&eacute;dicos y los comedores escolares. Adem&aacute;s, se reflej&oacute; que el nivel elemental fue el que m&aacute;s utiliz&oacute; los servicios durante el periodo de estudio. </p><p> Se estudi&oacute; la densidad de la matr&iacute;cula por milla cuadrada, as&iacute; como el promedio de estudiantes por zona geogr&aacute;fica. Se registr&oacute; una alta densidad de matr&iacute;cula en la zona urbana tanto en el 1970 como 1990. As&iacute; como, una zona rural superabundante con un incremento en el promedio de estudiantes, durante el periodo. En conclusi&oacute;n, existen factores determinantes de los cambios demogr&aacute;ficos que impactan los servicios complementarios de los estudiantes en las escuelas p&uacute;blicas de Puerto Rico. Entre &eacute;stos se identificaron los siguientes: densidad de matr&iacute;cula y de escuelas por millas cuadradas, tama&ntilde;o y volumen de la poblaci&oacute;n, tasa anual de crecimiento y balance migratorio. Entre las implicaciones relacionadas con los determinantes demogr&aacute;ficos se encuentra la reducci&oacute;n de la poblaci&oacute;n estudiantil matriculada en escuelas p&uacute;blicas, la cual impacta la cantidad de maestros, salones y escuelas.</p>

<p> This study helps to broaden a growing body of literature by examining the growth of an urban Jamaican community in the southeastern port of Santiago de Cuba, Cuba.</p><p> <i>Background:</i> When the British colony of Jamaica abolished slavery in 1838, the upper classes attempted to tie free workers to sugar plantations; ex&ndash;slaves attempted to move away from the estates as soon as possible. Despite an increase in internal migration after abolition, the majority of the black population remained in rural areas, and dedicated their labor to the land. The Jamaican elite successfully argued for the introduction of contract laborers from Asia as a replacement for the slavery system. It brought the planters some limited economic success as export crops&mdash;particularly sugar&mdash;had the chance to rebound, but planters used immigrants to drive down wages. Increasing population pressure on the land, a series of natural disasters, few economic opportunities, and ineligibility for political participation prompted Jamaicans to look outside of their homeland for socioeconomic improvement by the late 1800s. Travelers emigrated in significant numbers to Panama, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua with the hope of earning higher wages, sending remittances to family members, and returning home with enough money to live independently. As work on the Panama Canal ended by the 1910s, Jamaicans turned their sights back to the Caribbean. During the second half of the 19th century, Cuba was one of Spain's two remaining Caribbean colonies despite attempting several wars of independence. At the end of the final effort in 1898, the United States intervened against the metropolis; the two powers reached an agreement giving possession of Cuba to the US, who would help to establish political order and assist the islanders in ruling themselves. US investment in Cuban industry, especially in sugar, allowed foreigners to purchase enormous tracts of land and to influence the restructuring of the island's political, social, and economic landscape. The seasonal sugar cane harvest attracted foreign workers from Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean seeking better wages than what they could find at home; between 1912 and 1920, thousands of British West Indians traveled to Cuba to labor in the agricultural industry or to occupy niches in the service industry. </p><p> However, Cubans scrutinized and discriminated against them for being black, for being foreign, for driving down wages, or some combination thereof. Though Cubans claimed to live in a color-blind society, racial discrimination persisted and the white elite supported a policy of &ldquo;whitening&rdquo; the island through selective immigration from Spain and miscegenation; these racial and cultural prejudices were particularly divisive given that a significant percentage of Cubans were of African descent. Furthermore, the general population was frustrated by the lack of Cuban sovereignty and saw foreign workers as complicit in the US intervention. As a result, calls for nationalism tended to veer into xenophobia and racism during economic downturns in the early 1920s and 1930s. </p><p> <i>Methods/Sources:</i> Due to limited access to archival sources in Cuba, the bulk of the data is from the British National Archives: the consular reports summarized political and social upheaval in Cuba, collected publications from the Cuban government, and gave a perspective of the migration from the viewpoint of the British government. Similar information came from the U.S. National Archives at College Park, Maryland. The provincial archive of Santiago de Cuba provided information on migrant activities: marriage and citizenship documents; and social, cultural, and political organizations. It also yielded the Cuban government's responses to West Indian immigration. Correspondence between colonial officials and international organizations came from the Jamaican National Archives; the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute for Social and Economic Studies at the University of the West Indies, Mona, held interviews of Jamaicans who lived during the period under study. Cuban and Jamaican newspaper reports detailed economic and political conditions in the two islands from journalists' investigations, letters from migrants, and governmental decrees. </p><p> <i>Findings:</i> I relate how different groups in Cuba reacted to Jamaican migration: the support for and against it, how this support changed over time, and how it differed by geography. I also attempt to give a fuller description of who these migrants were. I discuss their relationships with other West Indians and Cubans, their marriages, and the paths that they took to Cuban citizenship. How gender influenced and differentiated Jamaicans' experiences when they went abroad&mdash;how they were perceived and treated, and how they fared&mdash;receives special attention.</p><p> The work concludes by examining the reaction of the British officials who represented British West Indians in Cuba. It also puts the migration into a broader context by examining black British subjects who traveled to other parts of Latin America and the Caribbean during this era. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)</p>

<p> <b>Problem</b> No formal study that considers the influence of the family, church, school, peers, media, and Adventist culture on the denominational loyalty, Christian commitment, and religious behavior of Adventist young people of Puerto Rico has previously been conducted. Therefore, pastors, parents, teachers, church leaders, and administrators have no data on which to base their assessment of the religiosity of Adventist young people. </p><p> <b>Method</b> This study used youth ages 14 to 21 from the youth sample of the <i>Avance PR</i> study conducted in 1995 in Adventist schools and churches in Puerto Rico. For the analysis, the sample was divided. When studying denominational loyalty, 704 baptized Adventist youth were used; when studying Christian commitment and religious behavior, 1,080 Adventist and non-Adventist youth were used. </p><p> <b>Results</b> The relationship between 34 family, church, school, peers, media, and Adventist culture independent variables and three religiosity dependent variables (denominational loyalty, Christian commitment, and religious behavior) was studied. Twenty-eight of the 34 variables had a significant relationship with all three religiosity variables: 10 family variables, seven church variables, one school variable, two peers variables, two media variables, and six Adventist culture variables. The remaining six variables had a significant relationship with only one or two of the three religiosity variables. The strength of relationships between religiosity and 22 of the independent variables varied by gender, age, family status, years lived in United States, and number of times families moved in last five years. </p><p> The model predicting denominational loyalty showed that youth are more likely to have a strong denominational loyalty when parents enforce Sabbath standards, there is a thinking environment in the church, quality sermons are preached in church, there is a warm environment in church, youth's best friends are religious, youth agree with Adventist standards, and youth agree with Sabbath standards. The model predicting Christian commitment showed that youth are more likely to have a strong commitment to Christ when there is unity in their families, there is a thinking environment in the church, there is a warm environment in the church, quality sermons are preached in the church, youth's best friends are religious, youth agree with Sabbath standards, and youth comply with at-risk standards. The model predicting religious behavior showed that youth are more likely to have a strong religious behavior when the parents lead frequent family worships, there is a thinking environment in the church, quality sermons are preached in the church, youth's best friends are Adventist, youth's best friends are religious, youth agree on Adventist standards, and youth agree on Sabbath standards. </p><p> The variables that appeared in all models of religiosity of youth were the church's thinking environment, the church's sermon quality, youth's best friends religiosity, and youth's agreement on Sabbath's standards. Furthermore, the strongest predictor for denominational loyalty was the youth's agreement on SDA standards; the strongest predictor for Christian commitment was family unity; and the strongest predictor for religious behavior was the church's thinking environment. </p><p> <b>Conclusions</b> My conclusions based on this study conducted in Puerto Rico are consistent with conclusions of other researchers in the United States that family, church, school, peers, media, and Adventist culture factors are important predictors of youth's denominational loyalty, Christian commitment, and religious behavior. Adventist culture and church have the strongest influence on denominational loyalty. Family and church have the strongest influence on Christian commitment. Church and Adventist culture have the strongest influence on religious behavior. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)</p>

<p> This phenomenological study examined the perceived adaptation experiences of English-speaking Caribbean K&ndash;12 immigrant students in American Schools through the telling of their stories. These stories were substantiated by their parents, and in some cases, close family friends, regarding their interactions with some American schools. The study was framed using Adaptation Theory which was supported by Bourdieu's Theory of Cultural Capital, Intercultural Communication Theory, John Ogbu's Cultural Ecological Theory, and Bowen's Family System Theory. The findings highlight the resiliency of students within this sample to adapt to significant changes in their new academic surroundings, navigate its inherent social structures, and experience progress in the face of challenges. Additionally, this study introduced factors that have contributed to the advancement of students and families within this population. Data gleaned from this study suggest that students from this population often outperform their American classmates. It also brings to the fore, a term coined by the researcher, reverse migration, which is a trend that may be widely practiced by members of this population. These findings may assist in evaluating the efficacy of existing policies pertaining to their placement, instruction, and in identifying gaps in addressing their academic needs.</p>