An Exploratory Analysis of E-Government Development in the Caribbean

Digital divide is, despite all efforts in research and practice, a matter of fact in most societies. In search for specific strategies to promote digital inclusion, one has to ask for what are the specific reasons and factors behind the problem. Here, the field of E-Government features several particular characteristics, including high privacy and security demands or high complexity of administrative processes, which might hinder the societal inclusiveness of such electronic public service delivery. Addressing the question of what could be possible explanations for a lack of inclusiveness in E-Government, we develop an E-Government-inclusion-gap-model and conduct a quantitative analysis of statistical data on E-Government usage in Germany, taking into account specific social digital divide groups, such as senior citizens, people with low education or people without employment. Here, we contrast E-Government usage with E-Commerce and internet usage. Specific inclusion gaps in E-Government and their underlying issues are analysed and specific recommendations given

The politics of tourism development: a case of dual governance in Tobago

The purpose of this paper is to report on an exploratory study of the role that tourism policy plays in influencing tourism development. The research is based on two questions: How does tourism policy influence tourism development in the small twin-island state of Trinidad and Tobago? and How does an arrangement of dual governance in a small twin-island state promote tourism development? The exploration demonstrates that tourism development in the context of Tobago, the smaller of the two islands, has been slowed as a result of dual governance and hence dual policy arrangements

Can foreign lobbying enhance development ? The case of tourism in the Caribbean

There exist legal channels for informational lobbying of U.S. policymakers by foreign principals. Foreign governments and private sector principals frequently and intensively use this institutional channel to lobby on trade and tourism issues. The authors empirically study whether such lobbying effectively achieves its goal of trade promotion in the context of Caribbean tourism and it is the first paper to examine the potential for using foreign lobbying as a vehicle for development. They use panel data to explore and quantify the association between foreign lobbying by Caribbean principals and U.S. tourist arrivals to Caribbean destinations. A variety of sensitivity analyses support the finding of a strong association. The policy implications are obvious and potentially important for developing countries.Tourism and Ecotourism,Economic Theory&Research,Accommodation&Tourism Industry,Political Systems and Analysis,Politics and Government

Intimate partner violence among African American and African Caribbean women: prevalence, risk factors, and the influence of cultural attitudes.

BackgroundWomen of African descent are disproportionately affected by intimate partner abuse; yet, limited data exist on whether the prevalence varies for women of African descent in the United States and those in the US territories.ObjectiveIn this multisite study, we estimated lifetime and 2-year prevalence of physical, sexual, and psychological intimate partner abuse (IPA) among 1,545 women of African descent in the United States and US Virgin Islands (USVI). We also examined how cultural tolerance of physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence (IPV) influences abuse.DesignBetween 2009 and 2011, we recruited African American and African Caribbean women aged 18-55 from health clinics in Baltimore, MD, and St. Thomas and St. Croix, USVI, into a comparative case-control study. Screened and enrolled women completed an audio computer-assisted self-interview. Screening-based prevalence of IPA and IPV were stratified by study site and associations between tolerance of IPV and abuse experiences were examined by multivariate logistic regression analysis.ResultsMost of the 1,545 screened women were young, of low-income, and in a current intimate relationship. Lifetime prevalence of IPA was 45% in St. Thomas, 38% in St. Croix, and 37% in Baltimore. Lifetime prevalence of IPV was 38% in St. Thomas, 28% in St. Croix, and 30% in Baltimore. Past 2-year prevalence of IPV was 32% in St. Thomas, 22% in St. Croix, and 26% in Baltimore. Risk and protective factors for IPV varied by site. Community and personal acceptance of IPV were independently associated with lifetime IPA in Baltimore and St. Thomas.ConclusionsVariance across sites for risk and protective factors emphasizes cultural considerations in sub-populations of women of African descent when addressing IPA and IPV in given settings. Individual-based interventions should be coupled with community/societal interventions to shape attitudes about use of violence in relationships and to promote healthy relationships

Forest Financing in Latin America: The Role of the Inter-American Development Bank

This study includes an overview of financing and financial instruments for sustainable forestry and in particular the roles of the public and private sectors in financing. The study also discusses the role of the IDB financing in forestry, their mandate and comparative advantages and measures to promote demand for forest financing. The overall objective of this study is to present recommendations for the IDB's forest related lending and support to institutional and policy development in borrowing member countries. The recommendations in this paper may be used for future forestry considerations for rural development and natural resource management programs.Environmental Policy, Forests & forestry, Financial Policy, Biodiversity, Natural Resources Management, Environment, Forestry, Forest Financing

Newly verified occurrences of industrial minerals in Belize

Modern society is characterised by functional infrastructure and sufficient number and variety of materials in the form of various technical goods. All these achievements of civilisation are not only the result of human skills, but their material principles are based on industrial minerals. This group of materials includes a wide range of the natural raw materials which are used in many industries. This includes the raw materials for the manufacture of glass, ceramics or fillers. For other raw materials, new applications are just being developed. These materials are very desirable in the market. Not only are their supplies endless, but they occur very unevenly in the natural deposits and unlike most metals can't be recycled. Due to low production costs in the production of this type of the raw materials, the competition in the global market has significantly increased during recent years. With this growing trend has significantly increased the interest in these materials in developing countries, which is precisely the Central American country of Belize. In the context of the cooperation, project has been verified several economically interesting sources such as ceramic clay, bentonite, feldspar and carbonate materials.Web of Science22222421

Everywhere and nowhere: Nearshore software development in the context of globalisation

Offshore software outsourcing, a major contributor to globally distributed work (GDW), has been identified as one of the most striking manifestations of contemporary globalisation. In particular, offshoring resonates with influential views that suggest that ICTs have rendered location irrelevant. Some research, however, has questioned this “placeless logic” and suggested that location may be significant to the success of offshoring ventures. In this paper, we draw on evidence from two nearshore software development ventures in the Caribbean to identify a number of locational characteristics relating to the physical, economic and cultural setting, local resources and government policy that may be important in influencing the suitability of offshore outsourcing venues. Some of these are recognised, even by companies pursuing placeless location strategies, while others were unanticipated. The cases also suggest that companies may be able to actively shape certain characteristics to their advantage. Implications for vendors and clients of nearshore information services, and potentially also for companies considering offshore ventures in non-traditional locations, are identified

Corporate Governance in the Emerging Economics of the Caribbean: Peculiarities, Challenges, and a Future Pathway

Building on corporate governance research and responsible leadership theory this paper examines, through a multiple case approach, three major cases of corporate failures in the emerging economies of Barbados, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago, member states of the Caribbean Community trade bloc. The paper accordingly provides valuable insights into the dynamics of corporate governance in the Caribbean and proposes a responsible leadership approach as a framework to mitigating agency-problems and addressing the changing business contexts of the region. The paper suggests that researchers and practitioners need to develop a more holistic approach towards understanding corporate governance by going beyond traditional governance mechanisms and controls, and incorporating responsible leadership levels of analysis into the equation. It also establishes that regulators, boards, management, and auditors are critical to avoiding corporate failures and that good corporate governance is fundamental to the performance and sustainability of firms and economies as a whole

Cyprus as a winter destination. An exploratory study

Seasonal fluctuations of demand are regular in the Mediterranean islands. this could be attributed to the distinct qualities of island destinations, their vulnerability, peripherality, and isolation. this article aims to determine whether Cyprus has the geographical and governance qualities needed to address seasonality by diversifying its tourism product. An exploratory, interpretive, inductive approach to research was undertaken with key informers within the industry to investigate these issues. the findings indicate that Cyprus has the necessary geographical features to address seasonality. however, there is high dependency on small number of tour operators, air travel companies, the narrow sun-and-sea product, and governmental control, which prevents winter tourism development