Is Jamaican Creole a language? By Paul Andrew Bourne, BSc. (Hons.) Economics and Demography Over the decades, the elitists among us have continued to “scuff” at Creole (Patois) as a language. This is because of its “mediocritic” origin and the social class associated with its usage. In order that finesse is brought to this discourse, a position must be provided on what constitutes a language. In addition, we must be able to comparatively analyze those factors in order to establish whether...
By Paul Andrew Bourne, MSc. (candidate), Bsc. (Hons) Demography /Economics On Sunday May 9, 2004, an article written by Mr. Mark Thompson appeared in the Sunday Herald under the caption, Studying overseas still costs more than in Jamaica, in reference to the undergraduate programmes offered by the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus. Such an article was written without any understanding of the epistemological framework of economics. Why? The author does not understand the cri...
BY PAUL ANDREW BOURNE Have you ever had a friend Who does not see BEAUTY, SOCIAL STANDING, FAME and CREDENTIAL as important? Or, WEALTH for that matter? But the warmth of your soul, the blessing of you just being there, accepting each fault as though it was pleasantries without being hypocritical. Seeing beyond your failures, shortfalls So as to offer recipe’ for your future advancement without ever wanting anything in return but pure friendship. When this friend is absent
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I was named Paul Andrew Bourne by Janet Green and Percival Bourne. My first experience with the outside planet “real life” began at the Victoria Jubilee Hospital, Downtown Kingston, Kingston, West Indies, on December 5, 1968. After my grand arrival in the world, my mother who was a single parent remained at her residence at 110 Waltham Park Road, Kingston 11. It was a tenement yard with some four families. My father happened to lived just four (4) houses away with his common-law-wife and ...
Some Jamaicans habitually use the above quotation in a pejorative manner about deported individuals. This ideographic has seemingly crept into the psyche of the average person. So much so that many peoples are promoting their individualized positions on the issue as ontology. Therefore, when Professor Headley’s findings on the “politics of deportees” were published on September 27, 2004, that there is no correlation between crime and deportees, the universalized myth of the past was ch...
Introduction According to Goldsheider (1998) migration is the “detachment from the organization of activities at one place and the movement of the total round of activities to another.” That is, people who move from one place to another while changing their usual place of residence are migrants. This definition, however, excludes people who move from one place to another without changing their place(s) of abode. For instance, vacation travelers and people whose jobs necessitate traveling ...
The Most Honourable Edward George Phillip Seaga, leader of the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), has been battered, bruised and left for dead. Nevertheless, like a Phoenix, he is still searching for one last reign at the helm. However, despite the seemingly unwitting approaches that he has taken in the past, the letter to Bruce Golding, party Chairman, in regards his resignation is simply leveling the playing field. Wow! Although Mr. Seaga knows that Bruce is a winnable candidate an...
Introduction In today’s society, the allocation and availability of capitals have posed a significant challenge to countless small prospective and actual investors. The issues range from not having the collaterals to being unable to provide credible guarantors. Because monies are paramount for the funding of working capital, many small investors are unable to expand or survive in this cash society. Oftentimes some investors look to family members for the needed financial assistance. ...
The life of many Jamaicans has been mesmerized by the quality of ‘local programming’ offered by CVM and TVJ television stations. The programmes aired by both media houses have offered nothing even to the dead. If the directors of programming at both institutions were half as witty like street boys, the level of artistry in local production would have created “Jamaica hood” appeal in movie consumption never seen in Hollywood. In addition, those local productions that are ventilated on tele...
In English for Academic Purposes, Lalla (1998, pp.175 – 200) posits that the most crucial aspect to essay writing is its introduction. She forwards the position that, a good introduction establishes a focus for the writing. The focus, she declares, is established through a thesis statement. To attain the focus throughout the composition, one needs a formal plan. This allows the writer, to structure his/her arguments in an effective directional manner. By offering a background in an essay...
On Sunday May 9, 2004, an article written by Mr. Mark Thompson appeared in the Sunday Herald under the caption, Studying overseas still costs more than in Jamaica, in reference to the undergraduate programmes offered by the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus. Such an article was written without any understanding of the epistemological framework of economics. Why? The author does not understand the critical principles of the deflator and Purchasing Power Parity (PPP); that absolute...
Over the decades, the elitists among us have continued to “scuff” at Creole (Patois) as a language. This is because of its “mediocritic” origin and the social class associated with its usage. In order that finesse is brought to this discourse, a position must be provided on what constitutes a language. In addition, we must be able to comparatively analyze those factors in order to establish whether or not Creole is indeed a language. We need to move this debate beyond social biases in order ...
Economics can be likened to a car’s engine. The course constitutes a set of distinct but interrelated parts that are systematically connected as one. This allows for the effective functioning of the different branches of the discipline. The various branches of the discipline are synchronized as an integrated whole. The whole, however, is each part that is properly functioning. The discipline is subdivided into micro and macroeconomics. Moreover, within each subdivision, there are many ot...
Econometric modeling is a systematic process of events that economists rely on for their theorizing. The example here is; demand is a function of price of the product, price of other goods, government policies, seasonalities, disposable income and preference – [D = f(P, Y, G, S, O)]. This is a modification of life’s complex variables in a simple mathematical axiom. In order to establish that econometric model, the process is supported by six organic events: a problem statement, literature ...
INTRODUCTION Jamaica is the third largest landmass in the Greater Antilles of the West Indies. The island is located 90 miles south of Cuba and 100 miles west of Haiti. Its mountainous terrain spans an area of 235 kilometers (km) long, 80 km wide and covers a land area of 10, 991 squared kilometers. The country got independence from Britain on August 6, 1962, when the human population was 1,624,400 (STATIN 2001: xxvi). The nation’s population rose from 1,624,400 (in 1962) to 2,607,632...