International Journal of Bahamian Studies
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Spinning Religiously: A Study on the Predictive Power of Religiosity on Bahamian Online Gamblers’ Motivation and Intensity
Full text linkA survey of Bahamians explored the influence of the participant’s self-reported levels of religiosity on gambling behaviour. The study also investigated Bahamians’ motivations to participate in online games of chance. Results showed that religiosity was a significant predictor of motivations to not only attend these online games of chance but also the level in which these games were attended. The results are analysed in light of the uses and gratification paradigm while expanding the research into the connection of religiosity and gambling
The Bahamas and the First Extensive Expedition, 1931-1932, of the USDA to the Caribbean Islands
Full text linkSponsored by Allison V. Armour and led by David Fairchild, a plant hunting expedition organized by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) targeted the Caribbean Islands and the Guianas between December 31, 1931 and April 1, 1932. Three other agriculture scientists joined this plant collecting enterprise: namely, Leonard R. Toy (from University of Florida); and Harold Frederick and Palemon H. Dorsett (both from the USDA). Seven of the Bahamian islands were explored between December 31, 1931 and January 15, 1932 and between March 29 – April 1, 1932. This contribution focuses on the Bahamian itinerary followed during this voyage. Documents and photos housed in the US National Archives, and the Library and Archives of Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden; herbarium specimens found in the US National Herbarium; and David Fairchild’s published accounts were the basis for our research. A total of 106 plant samples of plants (89 species), including herbarium specimens and material for the USDA were collected in this archipelago. Collections of an unidentified palm grown in the USDA Chapman Field Station, Miami resulted in the description of the Bahamian endemic Coccothrinax inaguensis in 1966 by Robert W. Read. The team failed to collect landraces of sea-island cotton and wild cotton species; even though, that was one of the main priorities for the team. Accounts of this visit were covered by two of Nassau’s newspapers: The Nassau Guardian and The Tribune
Bahamian Coloniality and Violence: Legal Legacies
Full text linkThe legacy of legal dispossession and dislocation as well as the marginalisation of the masses has been longstanding. This begins with land law that has never been updated to empower the people and moves through social or public order laws that are meant to protect the public by keeping order along the lines of Hobbesian and Lockeian thinking. If we look closely at a number of laws and political structures in the postcolony in the Anglophone Caribbean, we find that the legacy of Britain remains entrenched. This has both direct and indirect effects on the masses. The direct effect is Bahamians finding it harder to succeed in their own country than most international persons; and the indirect effect is violence and dispossession. This legacy and indirect effect lead to what has become referred to as a culture of violence, not because people see the violence they live with, but because they respond to the violence through violence they create and then become famous for. When a former subject, now a citizen in the postcolony, locked in a body and a space with few opportunities and access to those opportunities is frustrated by the legal and political economic systems, this working-class subject (like so many others) responds by resisting this oppression. Meanwhile, these laws continue to exact a heavy price
Bullying in the Bahamian Workplace
Full text linkThis paper reports the first known study on workplace bullying in The Bahamas. Over 2,000 people participated in an Internet-based study in the spring of 2020. The data suggest that 22% of the workforce may suffer from severe workplace bullying. This is a relatively high figure and is a potential cause for concern. While no difference in the rate of bullying between male and female workers was identified, the underlying associations which appear to put males and females at risk of workplace bullying vary. For both males and females, exposure to negative behaviours at home and school were associated with elevated rates of workplace bullying
The Importance of Diversity and Inclusiveness in Academia: Perspectives from University of The Bahamas Faculty
Full text linkAt the recent University of The Bahamas Faculty Seminar (2020), a panel presented on the topic, “The Importance of Diversity and Inclusiveness in Academia.” Their reflections on this critical discourse foreground various facets of the subject as it relates to the Bahamian context and to the University of The Bahamas, more specifically. Over the past several decades in North America and elsewhere, emphasis on diversity and inclusiveness has been driven by the need to address issues of inequity, marginalisation, invisibility, and injustice and has, in significant ways, energized the restructuring of academic programs, shaped new pedagogical approaches, impacted university hiring practices, revised university policies, and transformed campus life
Doctoral Dissertations by University of The Bahamas Faculty or About The Bahamas, 2012 - 2019
Full text linkThe purpose of this bibliography is to highlight the dissertations that support the achievement of doctoral degrees of the faculty of the University of the Bahamas, formerly The College of The Bahamas, as well as doctoral research about the Bahamas produced from 2012-2019. This compilation continues the previous bibliographies compiled by Dr. Berthamae Walker in 2003, 2005, 2008 and 2012. The entries for 2012 included in this bibliography are the omissions from the previous article published
Plagiarism Education in Science: The Effect of Instruction on Student Attitudes
Full text linkIn scientific publications, plagiarism is an ethical breach that can lead to article retractions and damage the reputations of scientists. In academia, when students begin their scientific careers and are learning the norms of scientific research, teaching the concepts of plagiarism is critical. However, a lack of clarity exists regarding the nuances of plagiarism and how universities should address instances of plagiarism committed by students. This study was conducted at the University of The Bahamas with students of scientific research methods classes to assess the effectiveness of plagiarism instruction on student attitudes. Over five semesters, a total of 110 students attended a lesson on plagiarism and completed at-home assignments to support the information learned in class. Students were provided questionnaires, which were administered before and after the plagiarism class, to assess their understanding, attitudes, and opinions regarding plagiarism at the University. Following the class, students indicated a greater understanding of plagiarism, more agreement with strict punishments for plagiarism, and less agreement on the acceptability of reusing past assignments. Students also reported a lack of clarity of the University policy on plagiarism. These results suggest that the university would benefit from providing additional learning opportunities pertaining to plagiarism, as well as a revision of the plagiarism policy, which could assist students as they embark on their scientific careers
Tourism, Ecology, and Sustainability: The Poetics of Self-Making
Full text linkThis paper explores, within an ecocritical frame, the work of two Bahamian poets that focus attention on such issues as pollution, neglect, commodification of natural resources, and the eco-social concerns of sustainability. The piece engages a brief discussion of the ways in which their poems critique power relations within national, multinational, and global spaces. The essay examines their poetic discourse on transnational corporations which operate on principles similar to those of the plantation economies that preceded them, ultimately continuing the practice of exploitation of Caribbean labour for wealth accumulation and bodily pleasures. Strachan and Limerick’s poetry functions to reclaim a sense of self, a sense of place as well as to recover a sense of history and forge a more sustainable relationship to the land and to environmental stewardship