Volume 42 No. 2

Preserving Indian identity in the French Caribbean: A Case for Guadeloupe and Martinique

Pages:  1-23Author(s):  Héléne Zamor

Keywords:  Indian, Creole, assimilation, identity, Calcutta, Tamil, Indiens de la Guadeloupe/Martinique/Indo-Créolité, language

An Empirical Study of Resident Perceptions of Tourism Impact in Store Bay, Tobago

Pages:  24-52Author(s):  Narendra Ramgulam, Riann Singh

This current study proposes resident satisfaction as that mediating mechanism through which perceived tourism impacts, and attitudes towards tourism development can shape hospitality towards tourists. Resident data was collected from 72 residents in Store Bay, Tobago. A cross-sectional research design was used to research the proposed relationships, and regression was used to analyse the data. The findings suggest some support for resident satisfaction as an important part of tourism which shapes resident hospitality through perceived tourism impacts and their attitudes towards tourism development. Implications, limitations and future research directions offered by these findings are also discussed.

Keywords:  resident perception, perceived tourism impacts, resident attitudes, tourism development, resident satisfaction, hospitality

A Study of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Trinidad: Formal Human Resource Management Practices and the Performance of SMEs

Pages:  53-80Author(s):  Riann Singh, Jairzinho Rigsby,Narendra Ramgulam

SMEs have become drivers of economic and social activity in developing nations. This study postulates that formal Human Resource Management (HRM) practices such as recruitment/ selection, training/development, performance management and compensation directly relate to the performance of SMEs. Little research has explored the impact of HRM practices on smaller firms and this study partially addresses this gap.

A sample of 177 SMEs in the Caribbean nation of Trinidad was used to assess the relationships. Regression analysis suggests some relationship between HRM practices and SME performance. Implications of these findings, limitations, and future research directions are discussed

Keywords:  SMEs, formal HRM, performance, survival, Trinidad

A Comparative Analysis of the Use and Impact of ICTs in Mass Tourism Destinations: The Case of Jamaica and The Bahamas

Pages:  81-99Author(s):  Delroy A. Chevers, Andrew J. Spencer

Jamaica and the Bahamas are two Caribbean countries whose economies depend heavily on tourism. It is argued that information and communication technology (ICT) is a major contributing factor in enhancing the tourism product, and more specifically its ability to satisfy hotel guests. However, there is relatively little research in this area in the Caribbean. Hence, this study seeks to assess the impact of ICT on customer satisfaction in Jamaican and Bahamian hotels. The study found significance between ICT adoption and hotel guest satisfaction in both Jamaican and Bahamian hotels. The insights of the study should be helpful in making a positive contribution towards improved economic performance in both countries.

Keywords:  hotel, information and communication technology, the Bahamas, Jamaica, customer satisfaction

The Renewed Relevance of the Caribbean Plantation School

Pages:  100 - 126Author(s):  Duane Edwards

In the late colonial and immediate post-colonial period in the English-speaking Caribbean, Caribbean thinkers have demonstrated a high degree of epistemological insight and independence as they questioned many received ideas coming from our former colonisers and as they developed constructs that more accurately reflected the region’s development realities as well as laid out development agenda appropriate to those realities. Since the neo-liberal turn and the Caribbean debt crisis of the 1970s and 1980s this epistemological independence has waned with the same frequency as the politico-economic and policy independence, resulting in, inter alia, the questioning of the validity of the critique and development programmes which evolved out of that epistemological revolution. Recent development thinking, however, in both the global orthodox and heterodox socio-economic schools has led to the possibility of a rethinking and revival of Caribbean development thought and programs. It may be the ideal time therefore to revisit and rethink the historical/institutional critique and approach to Caribbean development provided by the Plantation School in the Caribbean.

Keywords:  Sociology of Development, Caribbean Sociology, Plantation Theory, Caribbean Development, Structural Transformation

Research Note: Sociology of Development, Caribbean Sociology, Plantation Theory, Caribbean Development, Structural Transformation

Pages:  127 - 141Author(s):  Michelle Salandy, Lester Henry

This note investigates the impact of financial liberalisation on capital flight in Trinidad and Tobago during the period 1971-2011

Keywords: 

Book review: The Caribbean and the Wider World: Commentaries On My Life and Career

Pages:  165 - 171Author(s):  Alister McIntyre

This book is an interesting expose of an economist who has moved seemingly between academia and regional and international institutions. It provides useful insights into themes of leadership, decision making, policy formulation, negotiating agreements, international networking, the interaction of economics and politics and problem solving.

Keywords: 

Commentary: The Cuban Economy in the 21st Century

Pages:  142 - 164Author(s):  Leroy Binns

This article provides a comprehensive review of the Cuban economy taking diplomatic relations with the United States into consideration.

Keywords: