Gwyneth Harold Davidson's Blog

New Platform for my content

I am pleased to say that I now have an outlet on payhip.

The first products are my audio book Young Heroes of the Caribbean and also two images from Kingston. It's an early start, but please do visit.

https://payhip.com/YAReadersHangout

High Wind Kingston

Dear Reader,
The High Wind Kingston resource was created to enhance family life in Kingston, Jamaica by aggregating public resources that are related to making the best decisions to live in the city.
There easy entry portal is set out below. From there you can go in the direction that you need for additional materials. 
If there are additional resources that you think should be included, do leave a comment.
Yours sincerely,
High Wind Kingston
Set out below is the city gate.https://highwindkingstonjamaica.blogspot.com/

A Man And His Inner Turmoil

 

Thanks to Sophomore Academics for recommending this movie, which is how I heard about it a few days ago.

This movie is about a man and his inner turmoil. 
This was what I thought as I watched, with fascination, the 2002 movie The Phone Booth and applauded the director as every motion of every actor with face time delivered value to this psychological thriller. I also thought about the 2021 movie, The Tragedy of Macbeth, which, like the phone booth, was contained within a rigid space under the scrutiny of onlookers.
In the former, the dialogue and the action was on a street in New York City and mostly in and around a glass sided phone booth. In the Macbeth movie, the film was shot in black and white mostly within an austere castle. I enjoyed both movies for the dialogue, action and cinematographic values of photography, audio and editing. 
The Phone Booth seemed to have done well at the box office but was not enamored by critics. I think it was because the story criticizes the purveyors of entertainment products such as publicists, public relations and press workers. It is also forcing the reader to concede that there are forces of good and forces of evil in everyday lives, not something only in the realm of super heroes or villains from history or as defined by contemporary news.
The movie starts with the all-seeing eye coming down into the streets of Manhattan to the music of a gospel song, and this is the setting for the voice of judgement, who calls the protagonist out for his sins in a glass phone booth on a street.
The declamatory speech happens 3/4 into full time:    "I never did anything for anybody who could not do something for meI string along an eager kid with promises that I will pay him money. I only keep him around because he looks up to me. Adam, if you are watching, don't be a publicist, you are too good for it.I lie in person and on the phone. I lie to my friends, I lie to newspapers and magazines who sell my lies to more and more people. I am just a part of a big cycle of lies. I feel like the president.I wear this Italian shit because beneath I still feel like the Bronx. I think I need these clothes and this watch.My $2,000 watch is a fake and so am I.I bring death to the things I should have valued most. I value this shit.I take off my wedding ring to call Pam.Pam that's Kelly; Kelly, that's Pam.I never told her I was married, and if I did she would have told me to go home.Kelly, I am looking at you now, but I am ashamed of myself.I work so hard on this image and Stu Shep is an asshole that refers to himself in the third person can only prove that I should be alone.I am dressing up as something that I am not for so long, I am so afraid that you will not like what is underneath. But here I am, this flesh and blood and weakness and I love you so much.I take off this ring only because it reminds me of how I failed you.I don't want to give you up, I want to make things better but it may not be my choice anymore.You deserve better."
This show has been fatalistically labelled moralistic. According to the Bing, it won the Golden Trailer Award for Best Thriller in 2003 and Wikipedia says that it earned $97 million from a budget of $13 million.END

Books written by Jamaicans which include as the central themeMan and his inner turmoilTurn Back BlowSong for MumuAugust TownA Brief History of Seven KillingsVibration from Palampalam

DRAFT The Books That Shaped Jamaica 1962 - 2022

Additional Reading 

Bocas Lit Fest - 100 Books That Made the Caribbean

 https://www.bocaslitfest.com/books-th...

BBC - 100 Books That Shaped Our World

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/arti...

DRAFT
The Books That Shaped Jamaica 1962 - 2022The full list

Ateacher of English said recently to a CSEC class, "Almost every politicalworld leader for the past seventy years has read the book Animal Farm, that iswhy it will be studied in this class. You will thank me later."

If webelieve this experienced teacher, then by its reputation alone, that 144 pagenovella will continue to be one of the most influential books in the world forgenerations to come. It will continue to make persons aware and wary of groupsthat seem to want to be positioned to control and exploit them. 

At the conclusionof my examination of the most influential books published in Jamaica or writtenby Jamaicans after the year of independence in 1962, I have identified 28 booksthat changed the course of society. These books have been a clear mirror revealing something that is important to the society and, if not for the book, wouldhave remained obscured. The reaction of the society to a book tells us what is important to its people.

The Examination

Bynecessity, publications that influence Jamaica include those that are publishedoutside of the country and those that were published centuries ago,nevertheless, I created an artificial bubble from 1962 to 2022, a period thatcovers three generations and examined whether those books directly influencedlife in the country, and also considered what they are divining for the year 2052,thirty years from now.

Each bookthat was examined had to be published after 1962, thereafter another test wasapplied and books placed in one of two categories. Test 30, published 30 years ago, before 1992 and Test 20, published 20 years ago after 2002.

Children'sBooks

VicReid, C Everard Palmer and Jean D'Costa's children's chapter books have been apart of the primary and secondary school reading lists since the 1970s. LongmanCaribbean published VicReid's Young Warriors in 1968 and Jean D'Costa's Escape to Last Man Peak in1975. Palmer's A Cow Called Boy and was published in 1973 by Bobbs Merrill andMy Father Son Son Johnson in 1974 by Deutsch. The Ministry of Educationpublished Sprat Morrison in 1972 The outlook of these books is children beinguseful heroes within families and communities, respecting and paying heed to wisdomof elders. Although these books are well known by anyone educated in the publicsystem, none of the characters or situations in these books has made it intosong or stage play or statue. By virtue of this, none stand out as having madea very strong mark on the culture, but collectively, they would have done so asthey reinforce themes that are in the schoolrooms. These books are within Test 30.

I havenot, as yet, found a children's book that was published after 1992 that hasshown up in another art form, but many are used as textbooks, following the wisdomthat children must see themselves in books. Some of these are: No Boy LikeAmanda (2013 Becky T Books);  Inner City Girl by Colleen Smith Dennis(2009 LMH Publishing). Both are critically acclaimed, but have not spawnedother aspects of the culture. This would therefore qualify them under Test 20.

AnanseBooks

I amseparating this category from children's books because these titles are alsoresource materials for adults who work in education and the arts. The earliestcollection of Jamaican Ananse stories was Annancy Stories in 1899 by PamelaColeman Smith published by R R Russell New York, and with a little effort I believethat I can identify a publication of Ananse stories published in every decadebetween that time and 2022! Leading authors such as American historian andnovelist Zora Neal Hurston, former Chancellor of the University of the WestIndies Phillip M Sherlock, journalist and writer Andrew Salkey and of course folkloristand writer Louise Bennett all published Ananse story collections. For a periodin 1973, Salkey's book Anancy's Score published by the revered AfroCaribbean publisher Bogle-:L'Ouverture,UK, was among the top books requested by the Jamaica Library Service.

Thereare many recent references to Ananse, and here are a few.

January2023, Lecturer in Professional Studies and General Education at Church TeachersCollege Nadine Newman's short story Brer Anancy and di COVID Chrismus dance waspublished in the Gleaner with illustration by Dudley McLean.

In 2022,Communication Strategist Basil Jarrett's column “Anancy and corruption” put thefolk hero into the near future when he ended his column, "If for example,we are to accept that Anancy is to be blamed for so much of our corruptionills, then the fact that our kids are being raised with no idea of who he is,or what on earth is a Tacoomah, means a reduction in our high corruption indexmay be coming soon. Don't be so quick to break out the champagne yet, though. Idon't know what is the bigger existential threat. Anancy the spider? Or theseinfernal TikTok videos."

February2023, Anancy and Pinocchio is staged at the Courtleigh Auditorium.

Letterto the Editor, August 2023 compares Anancy to a trickster in business andcybercrimes.

Newspaperpublisher Lloyd B Smith writes in January 2023, “Welcome to the land of Anancy”and says, “It remains to be seen or determined how much these tales of"jinalship" and "bandoolooism" have infiltrated ournational psyche to the extent that in today's Jamaica Anancyism has become anational pastime, even while Anancy himself is one of our unofficial nationalheroes.”

TheNtukuma Storytelling Foundation founded by theatre practitioner Dr AminaBlackwood Meeks, with the Jamaica Library Service has staged the weeklong AnanseSoundsplash storytelling conference and festival every November since 2012. Theaim of this festival is exactly opposite to other interpretations of Ananse.The figure is seen as an inspiration for imagination and to connect withAfrican heritage in the most positive ways.

The folkfigure remains a recognisable figure throughout the decades, but that the preferredspelling by users is Anancy rather than the preferred spelling in academia, Ananse,tells us that the earlier books describing the trickster element of the folkhero is the major interpretation.

Novels

Under Test 30, There is one novel that has beenread across the generations, The Children of Sisyphus by Orlando Pattersonpublished by Bolivar Press, Kingston, in 1964. The book has had an impact as itis a core text at the university and Sixth Form levels for readers to gain an understanding ofpoverty and survival in a poor urban situation. It details the challenges of awoman who occupies the lowest rung in society and the men who surround her. 

The book is used as a metaphor or allegory for the struggle and hardships suffered by the poor who have no support.

Itwas used in many surprising ways, including as text for JCDC speech finals. 

In July 2022, architect and conservationistPatricia Green made reference to the book while talking about the plight of thepoor who are still being left behind in development initiatives. She said,"In West Kingston, the very poor squatted in"Back-o-Wall/Dungle," the rubbish heap portrayed so poignantly byOrlando Patterson in his book The children of Sisyphus."

In 2012 Rev Devon Dick’s newspaper column chidedsociety for policing expletives as, "There appears to be double standardsbecause in Orlando Patterson's novel Children of Sisyphus, there are wordswhich could be called indecent and students had to study the novel." In2019 after those words were used by the valedictorian of the Edna ManleyCollege, he returned to the discussion citing the book again but concluding,"expletives are not for valedictory speeches".

In July 1994, the Stella Maris Dance Ensemblecreated a full length dance based on the book. It was choreographed by MonicaLawrence, Nicoleen DeGrasse-Johnson and Patsy Ricketts. This was at a time when therewas still national outrage and sadness on deaths of young persons caused by or whilein the custody of government agencies. About ten years afterwards, Jamaica establishedadditional laws to protect the public including the Police Civilian OversightAuthority (2006), the Childcare and Protection Act (2004); Programme ofAdvancement Through Health and Education (PATH) (2002). Independent Commissionof Investigations (2010). Aside from this dance, overall, the book is frequentlyreferenced but not quoted.

The other novel I suggest under Test 20 is TheLunatic by Anthony Winkler, published by Kingston Publishers in 1987. The storyis remembered for the relationship between a lunatic and a woman from acompletely different culture, it plays on the theme of the uneducated Jamaicanman who enthrals a foreign woman and who gets caught up in situations. A moviewas spun off this book in 1990 by Island Pictures.

Other Artistic Books

This book is on the border line of being accepted.Smile Orange by Trevor Rhone was published as a play in 1974, and 13 years afterwards,1987 Longman Caribbean Writers published it as a book, so it was famous as aplay before it was parlayed into a book. The history of the play started with aJCDC gold medal in 1974 and then the play ran at the Barn theatre inKingston into 1975 then was made into a movie that played on local televisionand then went to video, so publishing is the last step. The reason it is hereis that it is successful as a book as it is on the textbook list. 

Jamaica Labrish by Louise Bennett was published bySangster's Press in Kingston in 1966. This book of poems written in JamaicanCreole is a staple of the dialect genre for performances and competitions forchildren and adults. Characters and situations have travelled through time suchas Uriah in the poem Uriah Preach, Love Letter, Colonization in Reverse, MissMary Turkey. The photo of Miss Lou on the cover of the book was recreated forthe statue installed in 2018 in her home town, Gordon Town. Her face from thecover is also in a mural on the PBCJ building in Half-Way-Tree. The fashion ofher costume has been recreated for collectable dolls. This book qualifies as asolid Test 30.

Jamaican popular music is heavily influenced byfolk music and a part of this is because over the years, folk music fromJamaica has been recorded and scores published. The great name in folk musicpreservation is Olive Lewin. In the 1970s she published three collections offolk songs for use in schools. They are: Alle Alle Alle, 12 Jamaican FolkSongs; Brown Gal In De Ring; and Dandy Shandy 12 Jamaican Folk Songs forSchool. The publisher was the Oxford University Press. The books provided thematerial for schools and performing groups and this spun off new musicalarrangements and other publications. Popular songs from her books that havetravelled through time are the brukins favourite, Jubilee, Adam in the Garden;the revival song Keyman; Dandy Shandy; and the ring game Thread O. Today, ringgames are a staple in Jamaican early childhood learning and socialisationactivities.

Now, it may be argued that Dandy Shandy is animmensely popular ball game on the grounds of primary schools and that the bookby Olive Lewin had no role in perpetuating its presence in the culture. Thatsaid, I cannot ignore that there is an annual 1990s themed dancehall stage showcalled Dandy Shandy staged by Renaisance Disco DJ Jazzy T and held in Jamaicaand the USA. 

I also cannot ignore that in 1978, the German discogroup Boney M recorded the hit Brown Girl in the Ring.  Time Magazine's100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time has Nalo Hopkinson's Brown Girl in the Ringpublished in 1998 by Warner Books. This gives the book Brown Gal in Di Ring aTest 30 pass as due to the prevalence of the song in the culture, and the songwas kept alive by Lewin's book. 

Starting in 1985, photojournalist Ray Chen's bookJamaica was published by Firefly Books. By 1995, this became a photo essay bookJamaica: The Beauty and the Soul of the Land We Love published by Ian RandlePublishers. His captures were done lovingly and without nostalgia of Jamaicarural and urban, powerful and powerless, nature and urban.

Memoirs

The books by Michael Manley which started with ThePolitics of Change, A Jamaican Testament in 1974 published by Andre Deutsch, UKpresented a world view of a powerless nation determined to strike out on itsown and making a success on all fronts. Mr Manley was the Prime Minister andthe book was directed to anyone within the sound of his voice and it energizednot only the political class but the electorate with a sense of pride and globalpurpose.

Of popular music he said, “Urban poverty has atlast asserted its own reality and troubadours of ghetto misery, frustration andhope have emerged. The search for self-confidence demands the organisation of training,economic opportunity and constant mass exposure for all these artists so that atotal dialogue with the society can be assured.”

Speaking of Education, his words seem to foreshadowschool-based assessments. “Simultaneously, the syllabus should provide forgroup tasks which need to be tackled together and which call for co-operationfor their successful implementation. With a little thought it is not difficultto evolve a whole series of activities beginning at the earliest age which involvechildren co-operatively.”

In the closing chapter Mr Manley says, “There arethousands of young people who need to feel part of a larger national adventure.Today’s younger generation realizes that international relations represent thenew arena of opportunity and that our external dialogue dos not condition ourinternal polity.”

In addition to the writings, the book wasaccompanied by the fashion sense of Mr Manley. In his article on the Karibasuit of Ivy Ralph, JT Davy notes that in the book, Manley said that wearing ajacket and tie was “the first act of psychological surrender in the colonialtrauma”

There was an update to the world view with the 1987Up The Down Escalator, Howard University Press, when Mr Manley was out of power,and this was also published by the same press. The books stand as brave,outspoken ideas which Jamaica feels it has the right to hold in the face of thetimes. Aside from the writings of Marcus Garvey, there is probably no other politicalleader whose publications are known and used in public discussions.

It is undeniable that within the pages of thesebooks is the urgings of building an independent society with a central placefor the young and the dispossessed. This would have been internalised by thefollowing generations of elected representatives and social scientists.

Looking back on a privileged childhood, RachaelManley's Drumblair series spells out a breathtaking era of family life behindthe scenes of Jamaica's most influential family. Published between 1998 and2008 by Vintage Canada, Key Porter Books, the series is Drumblair: Memories ofa Jamaican Childhood, Slipstream: A Daughter Remembers; Horses in her Hair, AGrandaughter's Story.

 Wilmot Perkins, journalist, was a reader ofpolitical books and articles and his commentary, written and broadcast, helpedto shape the public discourse for decades. One of the books that he referenced,constantly, was Detained: 283 Days in Jamaica's Detention Camp, Struggling forFreedom, Justice and Human Rights published in 1977 by Kingston Publishers. Thecover of the book of the former Senator looking out from behind prison bars isthe most poignant takeout from the book in discussion. It is a symbol of theexcess of state power over seemingly privileged persons. It is referenced inarticles about states of emergency when journalist Erica Vitue interviewed MrCharles in 2021, columnist Gordon Robinson and Frank Phipps remembered theperiod in 2019 and others. This places it for me in Test 30.

Born Fi Dead was published in 1996 by CanongateBooks. I have snuck it into my discussion although the author, LaurieGunst, is not a Jamaican person, but her memories of 10 years being associatedwith the Jamaican underworld refreshed the poverty and crime genre from thetime of Orlando Patterson in the 1960s and the movies the Harder they Come in 1972s,Countryman in 1982, The Lunatic in 1991, all by Island Pictures. The book transformedthe view of the urban poor of a simple sufferer into a malevolent being who wasdamaging to society, Third World Cop in 1999 was a maw though which theunderworld was seen with new eyes and the production company followed this withShottas in 2002. Books which were inspired by Born Fi Dead include A BriefHistory of Seven Killings by Marlon James which won the Man Booker Prize in2015.

Academic

Any book recommended for a curriculum will becomean influential book, and there will be books that are specific to subject areasand I stand back on being able to give any realistic view on their impact. Thatsaid, I will touch on a few that I believe would have influenced legislationand policy.

My Mother who Fathered Me: A Study of the Familiesin Three Selected Communities of Jamaica by Edith Clarke published in 1957 byAllen & Unwin can be said to have had unintended consequences. The Gleanerheadline of 1958 called it "A guide to aiding the masses".  Ithas become synonymous with romanticizing the single mother of Jamaica and thatmost children in Jamaica do not know their father. Sociologists such as DrOrville Taylor and Dr Herbert Gayle have tried to explain that Clark's studyshowed that 30% of homes with children did not have fathers, and that thefamily structure was being affected by migration for work. Nevertheless, themyth meets the culture of deifying motherhood, so it persists. This book is asolid Test 30.

Essays on Power and Change in Jamaica edited byCarl Stone and Aggrey Brown and published by the Jamaica Publishing House in1977 is famous for the line in the essay by Stanley Reid, "the concentration of powerand control of the corporate economy lies in the hands of minority ethnicelites and is mainly dispersed through 21 families and their interest groups.”Thirty six years later, In March 2013, Everton Pryce in a column revisited thestir that the essay caused with the summary that despite populism and access toeducation and advancement of rights and social security supports, the oligarchyis still in place today. The research application that led to the conclusionsin that essay was and still is a firm plank on which discussions about race,class and the legacy of slavery and colonialism are examined and extended. AnotherTest 30 by its ongoing referencing in commentary,

It isfitting that I follow on with the 1998 publication of the book In MiserableSlavery, Thomas Thistlewood in Jamaica 1750-1786 by Douglas Hall and publishedby the University Press. This book provides 30 years of the direct voice of aslave plantation owner from his own memoirs. It details the horrors of slaveryalongside the complexity of human emotions. So detailed were his writings overa generation that the book is a wealth of information about the society andeven the weather, so much so that climatologists have used it as a source tounderstand climate change in Jamaica. The book has helped to support calls forreparations making it a Test 20.

ThePeople Who Came series of three textbooks for junior secondary years of schoolwas first published in 1968 and is still available and still used. Thetreatment of the material for the young will be towards holding and respectingthe societies and its systems, not at that age, to take a strike for justiceand roll towards change. Written by Alma Norman and Kamau (Edward) Braithwaite.

Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, was published in 2012 by The Bible Societyof the West Indies. Over the past twelve years it has become integrated intoChristian festivals across denominations, such as Christmas services, but notused in regular study of scripture. The book utilises the academic spelling andgrammar set out in the Dictionary of Jamaican English, and this use is notwidespread although the dictionary has been around for 60 years.

So let us go to the Dictionary of Jamaican English published in 1962 bythe Cambridge University Press and compiled by Cassidy and LePage. Linguistshave not yet successfully convinced the education system to adopt its use inteaching. A part of the reason is that people are writing the Jamaican languagewith chaka chaka spelling, according to Professor Carolyn Cooper. Duringthe COVID-19 pandemic, some health materials were prepared by the governmentusing spelling prescribed by the dictionary, but this has not persisted. Mostmaterials use English or a mix of patois and English.  So after 60 years,the dictionary is still being used and it is the standard.

I am not sure if The Jamaican Driver's Guide, first printed in 1966by Cliff Hylton at his printery, Rex Printing and Stationery Co, is a truepublication but it has served the cycling and motoring public for nearly 60years. A second book is Automotive Technology Questions and Answers. In2006, the publishers said that there were about 40,000 copies of this book soldper year. It is the reliable road code book and following the new road actcoming into effect in 2022, it is due another update.

Policymakersshould use data to suggest policies and legislation for the future. TheStatistical Institute of Jamaica has published the Population and Housing Census, 1960, 1970, 1982, 1991, 2001 and 2011.The country is already at a disadvantage that one was not published in 2021.

The Economic and Social Survey Jamaica first published in 1958 and theJamaica Survey of Living Conditions first published in 1989 are annualpublications of the Planning Institute of Jamaica using data collected acrossministries departments and agencies and some from the other reliable sources.The longevity of the publications provide a sense of stability in the countryand reliable benchmarks for engagements with international developmentpartners.

Conclusion - (Work in Progress)

These books have helped to shape a society that still is traditional in values as evidenced by the children's books used in schools. From a political perspective, the idea that the government must be paternalistic and look out for you is seen in the writings of Michael Manley and also reinforced by the children's books and academic writing. 

The beloved acceptance of the Drumblair series in how the family lived is quite a distance from the populist writing of its leading member and central spirit, Michael Manley. I think that this demonstrates that the elite is an accepted social form in modern Jamaica, and that it has its worth somewhere, just as the rural culture and urban sub-cultures have their worth and proud permanence.

The thread of anti colonialism is strengthened by In Miserable Slavery and the other academic books that place the West Indies as a new world place that is made up of creative and proud people who are not afraid to confront their history.

The folk songs are within every strand of popular music created by Jamaicans, and it traces back to the popularity of  - but not exclusively I am sure - the books of Bennett and Lewin.

Then there is Ananse/Anancy very much a part of the tapestry of Jamaican society and interpreted mostly in a negative way, but perhaps the folk figure has really been powering the spirit of ingenuity and individualism, of persistence and self preservation. He is derided and shunned, but still he rises, and if we believe he is here, then he is here by grace and nothing else.

While writing this, I became disturbed at the films that have been created from novels and popular films overall. To take a piece of what Mr Manley said in Politics of Change, "Urban poverty has at last asserted its own reality". They put in front of us the desperation of persons living on the edge.

PostScript

Not counted in this listare the speeches that had an impact such as Michael Manley's casual 1976reference to "Five Flights A Day" which ran through the country likewildfire, incensing citizens to emigrate.

 Another speech made inFebruary 1994 at a national consultation on values and attitudes was madepopular by the oft reporting of it on radio. "The fight for scarcebenefits and political spoils, has contributed to a polarised society operatingas hostile tribes perpetually at war."

By far, I think that thebook that has made the single greatest impact on society is the 1929 novel. TheWhite Witch of Rose Hall by HG Delisser. The book spawned a revival of Georgianstyle architecture with the refurbishing of Rose Hall between 1966 and 1971.

Barry Reckord staged a 1975play, White Witch of Rose Hall

 Tony Wilson's TheCompany Dance Theatre staged the ballet Rose Hall in September 1998.

Johnny Cash the countrysinger recorded a song, the Ballad of Annie Palmer.

In 2019 Jamaica's nationalcostume at the Miss Universe competition was Annie Palmer

White Witch is an eau deparfum made by Parfums Jamaica with a spell-binding bouquet of flowers and atouch of mandarin.

Test 30 published before 1992

Test 20 published after 2002

 

Books That Shaped Modern Jamaica DRAFT

ROUGH EARLY DRAFT
This list is an attempt to find the books published after 1962 that have entered the national consciousness and shaped Jamaica. Some of these may not have been read, but the myths and legends about their content is widely known and referenced in many ways and have stimulated the production of other creative works.
There are other cultural forms that are more popular such as songs, sports, food and human relationships.
Not counted in this list are the speeches that had an impact such as Michael Manley's casual 1976 reference to "Five Flights A Day" which ran through the country like wildfire, incensing citizens to emigrate.
Another speech made in February 1994 at a national consultation on values and attitudes was made popular by the oft reporting of it on radio. "The fight for scarce benefits and political spoils, has contributed to a polarised society operating as hostile tribes perpetually at war."
This exercise is to reflect on whether books have made an impact on society.It may be that the books are influencing only a small segment of society that, due to their positions, do change and shape society.
Book CategoryNameImpactChildren's BookLittle Lion Series, 2008 Jackmandora (Media Magic)Widely available and promoted in schools and in all bookstores A Cow Called Boy, 1973 Bobbs Merrill Widely used text in primary and secondary schools  My Father Son Son Johnson, 1974 Deutsch Widely used text in primary and secondary schools  The Young Warriors, 1968, Longman Widely used text in primary and secondary schoolsSpat Morrison, 1972, Ministry of Education Widely used text in primary and secondary schools  Escape to Last Man Peak, 1975, Longman Widely used text in primary and secondary schools fom 1980NovelChildren of Sisyphus, 1964, Bolivar PressCore text for sociology students at UWI
Referenced by leaders in talking about social conditions
Used as a text in speech festivals
1994 Stella Marie Dance Ensemble full length dance
Referenced by Gleaner Editorial, July 26 2020
Referenced by Rev Dick about the use of expletives during a valedictory ceremony December 5, 2019The Lunatic, 1987 Lyle StewartThe book became a movie and, like Smile Orange, it was a pilory for the foreign woman, uneducated Jamaican man connectionOther Artistic Work1966 Jamaica Labrish Staple for poetry competitions and performances. First book that was published by Sangsters with foreword by a leading academic and also former Member of Parliament, Mike Henry. Published by William Collins and Sons (Collins).1974 - 1977 Alle Alle Alle, 12 Jamaican Folk Songs Brown Gal In De Ring, Dandy Shandy 12 Jamaican Folk Songs for School, Oxford University PressThe reference material for schools and adult groups in theatre, 1992 The Beauty and the Soul of the Land We Love, Periwinkle PressThe photo essays that lovingly captured without nostalgia, contemporary Jamaica rural and urban, powerful and powerless, nature and urbanSmile Orange, published 1974, 1987 Longman Caribbean WritersWon an award in 1974, ran at the Barn through to 1975 then was made into a movie that played on local television and went to videoMemoirDrumblair Series:
Drumblair, Memories of a Jamaican Childhood
Slipstream a Daughter Remembers
Horses in her HairWidely referenced about a belle epoch of a privileged set 1999 - 2008.  Defines class privilegeDetainedWidely referenced when talking about over extensions of political decisionsBorn Fi DeadWidely referenced when talking about Posse culture of West Kingston and environs, spawned the genre of posse writing that includes  the award winning A Brief History of Seven Killings 1996The Politics of Change, A Jamaican Testament 1974; Up the Down Escalator 1987 both Howard University PressThe fact that they were published provided a sense of pride among the political class. Books that shored up the aspirations of a Third World alliance of nations who can do better together than with alliances with powerful nations of the North and that Jamaica would be at the centre.AcademicMy Mother Who Fathered Me 1957, 1966, 1999, 2002A guide to aiding the masses - Gleaner Headline 1958. Author was the grand aunt of Media and Financial Magnate, Oliver Clarke. Quoted by writers such as Arnold Bertram and leading sociologist Orville Taylor, communication consultant Martin Henry, Used to romanticise the single mother as hero.Essays on Power and Change in Jamaica 1977,1978 Jamaica Publishing HouseThe reference that there is an oligarchy of 21 families that control power in JamaicaDi Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, 2012, The Bible Society of the West Indies 2012Integrated into Christian ceremonies during special occasions Dictionary of Jamaican English 1962, Cambridge University PressThe definitive dictionary that has influenced the spelling of words.ESSJ, 1958 Planning  Institute of JamaicaThe reference book for data on Jamaica. First published in JSLC 1989, Planning Institute of JamaicaThe reference book on living conditions including poverty  The People Who Came, 1968Texbook series on how the Caribbean society came to become as a result of the movement of people The Jamaican Driver's Guide, 1966, Rex Printing and Stationery Co , Automotive Technology Questions and AnswersIn 2006, the publishers said that there were about 40,000 copies of this book sold per year. It is the reliable road code book.In  Miserable Slavery 1998, Univesity Press of the West IndiesThis was literally the voice from the past that providing multiple example of the horrors of slavery on which the narrative about reparations is built. Has also become a source of information to suggest the progress of climate change in Jamaica Population and Housing Census, 1960, 1970, 1982, 1991, 2001, 2011, STATINReliable data on which academics and policymakers rely

Can public bodies provide evidence on the value of a print ad in the Sunday Gleaner and the Jamaica Observer?

An article on the topical matter of the absence of Jamaica from the UNGA vote towards peace in Gaza on October 27 vote on struck a chord with me as I have been thinking that state agencies should share primary and other data that they use to make decisions. Sometimes, I think that despite targets that are set by agencies, decisions are not based on data and information that will help to achieve the goals but based on other factors.

As I went through the printed Sunday Gleaner and Jamaica Observer newspapers on November 5, I saw other articles in the Observer that are calling for more timely information and data that is created or used by the public sector.

Page 24 Bunting Scolds Gov't Entities for Late Annual Reports

Page 30 advertisement: FSC Has Nothing To Hide

Page 30 Senator Wehby Moots Auditors' Database, "there is no sharing of information or cross learning between these audit committees."

Pages 34 and 35 Garfield Higgins, "Facts Matter"                            

Timeliness and transparency of public information was also mentioned at a public lecture last week. Dr Peter Henry delivered the November 2 PIOJ Dialogue for Development Lecture, and I choose to summarize his charge with this quote from his speech, "By cultivating a culture of transparency regarding the social rate of return on public spending by the Government of Jamaica, the Ministry of Finance could boost its credibility even further and increase engagement with prospective foreign and domestic investors, thereby generating scale and momentum."

My core interest is the data that s available for persons who have the responsibility to carry out the execution of communication programmes. As I was looking at the printed newspapers on November 5, I noted which ads would have a measurable impact.

In the Gleaner, the Companies Office posted the list of companies that have not delivered beneficial ownership returns that can be accepted by the companies office. This ad is probably a requirement for the Companies Office so the fact that it was published is satisfying the communication function. In a similar way, the careers pages are customarily the first point of contact for job seekers so the many ads and notices with regards to professions is almost considered a requirement. The Institute of Engineers ad warning persons to use registered public engineers is such an example. The week before it was the Jamaica Dental Association warning persons of unlicensed practitioners. In these cases, the number of calls and other activities should be documented within two weeks of the placement of the ad in order to determine its impact.

Page 32 of the Sunday Gleaner was a full page full colour advertisement Petrojam's Product Pricing Explained. There was no invitation for action, but any calls to the office can be counted and its purpose considered whether it had the desired impact. Perhaps this ad satisfies a specific group of stakeholders.

The Bank of Jamaica has four full colour ads in the Business Observer (pages 3, 5, 7, and 9) explaining how to know if a $100 bill is authentic. Each ad covers 40% of the page. In the Gleaner, these ads are about 20% of the pages and do not flow as the pages turn but appear at different places on the broadsheet. There is no bold call to action and I do not see it having a measurable impact on the platforms of the institution.

Election Day Recruitment has a half page full colour ad in the careers section of the newspaper. This ad encourages applications so it is reasonable to say that email applications and calls that come in over the next week can be directly attributed to the print ads.

The Ministry of Health and Wellness full page, full colour Dengue Alert in the Gleaner, the fogging schedule for November 5 to eleven and have no call to action. I do not see a way to measure the impact of these ads.

National Health Fund placed a quarter page full colour ad in the Gleaner and the Observer announcing that five more chronic illnesses are being covered by its services. Calls and other forms of contact about the specific content of the ad over the next week will be able to demonstrate impact.

The same will be true for the Development Bank of Jamaica invitation for entrepreneurs to take advantage of its Credit Enhancement Facility which was advertised using a half page full colour ad in the Gleaner. also of the National Housing Trust half page full colour ads on locations to apply for its  loans.

On November 8 the PIOJ will have a Best Practice Symposium and invites the public to watch using a YouTube link. On November 10, the symposium will feature a public fair on the South Lawn of Devon House called the Local Economic Initiative. It has placed a half page full colour ad to promote this. Only calls and emails to the company over the next week can precisely identify the impact of the ad. There is no way to trace the viewers on YouTube and the persons coming through the fair will not be asked how they found out about it.  

I think that it is time for all advertising to be scrutinized clearly before a decision is made on how it is designed. Each should have a measurable call to action such as a QR code, a contact email address or phone number or social media platform. Also, if possible, when contact is made with the agency, users should go through a screening doorway to find out where they learned about the service, event or opportunity.

On a different matter, enterprises tamper with their logos during the seasons of the year such as for breast cancer awareness, Christmas, and the independence of Jamaica. This trend should be interrogated as I believe it is a fashion trend and not for any real meaningful purpose. Have the number of women being screened for breast cancer during October, the awareness month?

Why should any public entity tamper with a logo over Christmas or the independence or heritage holidays? What benefit does this bring to the public?

I will wager my last dollar that there is no data that validates the changing the colour of a corporate logo during popular health awareness months has an impact on behaviour change and health outcomes. At this time, that data should exist and should be collected and considered.

Successful Digital Transformation Needs People

Successful Digital Transformation Needs People

window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-WJ72SMZ113');I recently had the pleasure of reading "Successful DigitalTransformation: Your World, Your Business, Your Life… Reimagined" byChristopher Reckord and Trevor Forrest, published this year. This concise yetthought-provoking book offered a chance for contemplation amidst life'sdistractions.

The authors, known for their expertise in digital transformation, andfor sharing it in the press and at various fora, have compiled their insightsinto a book that serves as a valuable resource for enterprises that are embarkingor plan to enter a digital transformation. The authors stress the importance ofengaging people in the digital transformation process, making them activeparticipants rather than mere bystanders.

Leadership accountability plays a pivotal role in the success of anydigital transformation endeavour. The book emphasizes the importance ofapproachable management and provides an illustrative example of how this candrive positive change. They also quote the adage, “if you can’t change thepeople, change the people,” to show how the right mindset is needed for digitaltransformation.

The authors assert that digital transformation should be integrated intoan organization's strategic plan, and that it should have a clear focus thatwill guide the processes and the investments that are required. Conducting a comprehensiveassessment of the processes that exist in a business is crucial.

As with any other area in the business, even though the digitaltransformation document will be prepared by experts, the writers emphasize thatit has to be preceded by a holistic assessment of the enterprise. Such adocument that will affect the business is not to be prepared by highfunctioning “solution silos” but must include stakeholders. They have a keytip, “follow the people with the most paper.”

Inclusivity across the board, including customers and externalstakeholders, is vital. Taking the time to notify neighbouring property owners beforeexcavating a cable trench across the road, demonstrate respect and considerationfor a key stakeholder.

Digital transformation should ultimately enhance customer and client experiences,even if it introduces some initial discomfort. The process of getting serviceat the Constant Sprint Revenue Centre now involves an additional step, but inmy experience, the overall the wait time has been dramatically reduced to a fewminutes. The ongoing cry for communities to have offices of financial servicesas near to them as possible at a time when financial services want to dobusiness online is an ongoing concern. Digital transformation, in these cases,is not an end into itself, but must enhance the service that is being offered.

The writers insist that digital technology must be encouraged andembraced, so us petrol customers may soon have to do like the electric carowners and dial up our own energy and lose out on discussing the weather with apump attendant.

The authors underline the need for digital technology adoption andemphasize the necessity of establishing governance structures in place beforetransformation in order to ensure compliance with data handling laws.

This book serves as a motivational guide rather than a technical manual,applicable to various industries, including utilities, banking, and financialservices. While some sectors have made substantial progress in digitaltransformation, others, like healthcare and education, have room forimprovement.

The book is a compact, motivating guide that can easily accompany you inyour daily life. Whether in a knapsack, tote, or glove compartment, this bookis a valuable resource for anyone considering a digital transformation.

Wishing everyone success in their digital transformation endeavours,aiming to enhance a sustainable quality of life, securely.

-30-

 

High Stock Value of Fatherhood pushing up the High Rate of Jackets

https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/c...

High Stock Value of Fatherhood pushing up the High Rate of Jackets

June 18, 2023

Perhaps a crude headline, but I appreciated Dr Orville Taylor's 2023 Fathers Day article. It highlighted that anecdotes and also research should be understood in context, which is sometimes narrow. In the 1950s, when there was very high migration of young working people from Jamaica, Taylor notes that in her book, My Mother Who Fathered Me, researcher Edith Clarke reported that 30% of households had no father in the home. The book seems to have focused on the negative effect of this rather than the economic and social situations that created it. Discussions around this book caused the society to conclude that the Jamaican father being uncaring and unsupportive of their children.

Then Taylor moved away from this to highlight Dr Samms Vaughn's 10 year study that started in 2011, found that 80 per cent of newborns have a father's name on their birth certificates. Looking at it in a different way, research done by STATIN and reported in the PIOJ Jamaica Survey of Living Conditions points out that 18 per cent of families have no father in the home, this is a significant, but much lower than the 30% of the 1950s and very close to the presumed 20% of children born after 2011 who do not have a father's name on their birth certificates.

Having established that father's are named, Dr Taylor says that between 20% and 50% of tests to prove fatherhood are failed. In this context he concludes that mothers place a higher value on giving a child a good father, rather than their real biological father.

The figures seem to exonerate the Jamaican man from lacking as a parent and again turning to the social and economic causes that would lead to another undesirable result. In my experience, I see more evidence of men trying and succeeding as a parent than their counterpart.

Reading at Storytelling and Literature Edition of the Kingston Art Walk

The monthly Kingston Art Walk had as its March 26 theme, Storytelling and Literature featuring short story writers, spoken word poets, vocalists and the Ntukuma collective telling stories from books that they have created or writing that they have done.

Led by founder, Amina Blackwood Meeks, the format was How Ananse Came To Be In a Book with the wise Ma Gat who told stories from books, until Ananse was able to get why the story "Why Rat and Puss Are Not Friends" written into a book.

Interspersed in that frame, three storytellers blended in their own work. A-dZiko Sima read from her her coming of age novel, "All Over Again" which won the 2014 Burt Award for Caribbean Literature. St Mary parish based culinary artist Hassane Gordon told the recipe for her Sweet Potato Solomon Gundy.

Blackwood Meeks also highlighted her book "The Children Ought To Know", a collection of articles highlighting the philosophy behind African retentions in stories and also the legacy of such stories in nation building and interrogating current view of history.

Gwyneth Harold Davidson read the excerpt about Sam Sharpe from her YA fiction novel "Young Heroes of the Caribbean" where Sam, as a ten-year-old enslaved person, learns a harsh lesson as he realises the impact of divide and rule among the workers on his plantation.

The collective performed at the Reggae Month edition of Kingston Art Walk in February and had a hybrid presentation from its office at the Mico University for International Storytelling Day 2023.

See video of Harold Davidson at the Kingston Art Walk here: Young Heroes of the Caribbean

  

Talk It Out Lit Fest

Coming on April 29 in Kingston Jamaica, the Talk It Out Lit Fest celebrates literature with established writers and unearthing young writers!

https://sites.google.com/view/talk-it...