Exchange rate regimes and monetary autonomy: Empirical evidence from selected Caribbean countries

This paper uses the error correcting methodology to investigate how pegged and non-pegged exchange rate regimes in a set of Caribbean countries affect the closeness of the relationship between changes in a base country rate and the local rate. This interest rate parity condition is subjected to effects arising from capital controls and common shocks related to inflation and external debt. The results support the standard theory that peg countries (like Barbados) follow the base country interest rate more closely than the managed float or flexible rate economies (such as Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica). In addition, the paper supports the open economy macroeconomic policy trilemma proposition that only two of the following goals – stability in the exchange rate, national independence in monetary policy and free capital mobility- can be achieved simultaneously.Exchange rates, Monetary policy, Error correcting mechanisms

The Making of Cults: The Factors that Contribute to Membership and the Leaders’ Influence

This thesis investigates the factors that contribute to the increased vulnerability to cult membership. This paper also investigates the factors commonly found in cult leaders that increase their influence over their members. Cults have gained much more public attention due to their appearance in the media, typically after a tragic event. This has brought more questions regarding the members and leaders of these cult organizations. Developments associated with youth such as a need for belonging, the search for non-traditional forms of spirituality, emergence of black-and-white and independent thinking, conflicts with the adult world, and growing sexuality can increase an individual’s vulnerability to joining a cult. Additionally, certain personality disorders and characteristics, such as Antisocial Personality Disorder and Dependent Personality Disorder, can increase one’s vulnerability to joining and staying in a cult. Certain personality disorders can increase a leader’s sphere of influence over followers. In particular, Antisocial Personality Disorder and Psychopathy are the most prominent disorders. These factors are applied to various case examples in this paper. The case examples explored in this paper are Jonestown, The Kentucky Vampire Clan, The Manson Family, and The Source Family. Awareness on the factors that make up a cult is a crucial step in the prevention of cult membership

The Church as a Social Support for Women: Perspectives of Female Members of Selected Seventh-day Adventist Churches

Problem. The subject of social support and its role in health and well-being ofindividuals has become an important topic to many researchers. This study was designed to discover to what extent female members of Seventh-day Adventist churches perceive their church as providing them with social support. Method. The instrument used was the Social Provision Scale which measures six aspects of social support--attachment, guidance, nurture, reliable alliance, social integration, and worth. Scores from the 99 White and 48 African American women were compared for each of the six aspects on the basis of ethnicity, age, and marital status using Analysis of Variance. Results. In comparing the women on the basis of ethnicity, the Black women had a higher perception of their church as a provider of social support. Among the different age groups, older women scored higher than the young or middle aged. Married women also had a greater perception of receiving social support than single women. Conclusions. The women surveyed appeared to have a rather high perception of their church as a provider of social support. However, there may be other factors in their lives which are responsible for their feelings of well-being

Sanctioned Violence (2021-2022)

In this research inquiry Greenidge uses Claudia Rankine’s work and a reading of the Rodney King video to question and argue against the sharing of viral videos (such as that of George Floyd or Eric Garner) that depict suffering, brutality, and the murder of Black people. Greenidge’s claim is that while some may share these images in the hopes of supporting movements, such as Black Lives Matter, or creating justice through awareness, the actual sharing of these videos creates desensitization and normalizes acts of violence toward Black victims. Instead of focusing on Black suffering, Greenidge calls for media and the public to focus more on countering white supremacy and the perpetrators of these violent acts.https://digitalcommons.cortland.edu/rhetdragonsresearchinquiry/1009/thumbnail.jp

Book Review: Embodied Utopias: Gender, Social Change, and the Modern Metropolis

Review of Embodied Utopias: Gender, Social Change, and the Modern Metropolis, edited by Amy Bingaman, Lise Sanders and Rebecca Zorac

Attitudes Towards Seeking Professional Counseling: The Role Of Outcome Expectations And Emotional Openness In English-speaking C

Purpose: The college environment is documented as a universally stressful period where students face many challenges (Baysden, 2002; Pandit, 2003). In addition to these potential stressors, international students face other unique challenges such as loss of support network, feelings of isolation, economic hardship, coping with oftentimes competing cultures, and anxiety which emanates from unfamiliarity (Kim & Omizo, 2003; Rounds & Kline, 2005). Unsuccessful resolution of these challenges can negatively impact the acculturation process, their mental health, and their academic programs (Roysircar, 2002). Despite these many challenges, research consistently shows that international students are less likely than their US counterparts to seek professional counseling (Bayer, 2002). Further, those who do seek counseling services are also more likely to terminate services prematurely (Anderson & Myer, 1985). Although there is an abundance of research on the attitudes towards seeking professional counseling of Asian and other international student populations (Kim & Omizo, 2003; Lau & Takeuchi, 2001; Leong & Lau, 2001; Liao, Rounds & Kline, 2005; Pandit, 2003), there is a dearth of knowledge on Caribbean college students. This dissertation sought to determine which factors influence the attitudes towards seeking professional counseling of English-speaking Caribbean college students in the U.S., as well as those attending colleges in the Caribbean. Method: Two research questions and five null hypotheses were used to examine what influences the attitudes towards seeking professional counseling of 500 Caribbean college students. The variables of interest were stigma tolerance, level of social support, level of acculturation, outcome expectations and level of emotional openness. Stigma Tolerance was measured using the Stigma Scale for Receiving Psychological Help (SSRPH), Outcome Expectations were measured using the Disclosure Expectations Scale, Emotional Openness was measured using the Distress Disclosure Index and Social Support using the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Attitudes towards seeking professional counseling were measured using the Attitudes towards seeking Psychological Help instrument by Fischer and Turner (1970) and acculturation was measured using responses from the demographic questionnaire. Several analyses were conducted including a stepwise regression analysis, multiple regression analysis, a MANOVA, ANOVA and a linear regression analysis. Major Findings: The results of this study indicated that stigma tolerance and anticipated risks of seeking counseling both have a significant inverse relationship with the attitudes towards seeking professional counseling of English-speaking Caribbean college students. Results also indicated that anticipated utility of seeking professional counseling has a significant relationship with the attitudes towards seeking professional counseling. The level of emotional openness as well as the level of social support also have a direct relationship with the attitudes towards seeking professional counseling of English-speaking Caribbean college students. Students who reside and attend college in the Caribbean reported higher mean scores for anticipated risk, anticipated utility and attitudes towards seeking professional counseling than their counterparts who reside and attend college in the U.S. Results also indicated that length of stay in the U.S. was not a statistically significant predictor of one\u27s attitudes towards seeking professional counseling

Power as peace. Change and continuity among Darfuri refugees in Tchad

The thesis examines resilience and change in traditional systems of authority, with a specific focus on traditional systems of administration and conflict resolution. The aim is to examine social change and social continuity among the BeRà refugees in Tchad by looking at the effects of conflict and conflict induced migration on their traditional forms of leadership. The thesis focuses on leadership expressed through the ability of elders to be Ajawd (mediators) and thus to achieve Judiyya (amelioration). This work will theorize conflict and conflict resolution without removing it from its environmental, historical, cultural and political setting. The thesis will also historicize regional conflict and examine how current conflicts affect the lives of Darfuri refugees and their leadership in Eastern Tchad. This kind of analysis can best be accomplished if one takes a broader look at regional phenomena before trying to decipher the meaning of locally or culturally unique elements. Key findings of this work include the fact that Judiyya has continued in spite of four years in the refugee camps. Figures in Idara Ahalk [Native Administration] from Darfur, though unable to form reliable links with counterparts in Tchad due to ethnic rivalries and tensions, have been able to establish working links with Tchadien civil authorities, much as existed in Darfur prior to the war