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Jamaica Customer Service Association - Presentation

Below is an extract from my presentation to the Jamaica Customer Service Association.

Jamaica Customer Service Association

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Prime Minister Simpson-Miller recognizes the work of Dr Marcia Forbes

The invitation was for me to be a part of a panel discussion pertaining to media images and violence against women and girls. This was the Bureau of Women’s Affairs’ educational thrust. The event was in recognition of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, to be celebrated two days later on November 25th. After the panel presentation I realized that my work in gender-related areas was to be formally recognized and ‘rewarded’.

Dr Marcia Forbes presents a copy of her book to her Alma Mater

 

Dr. Marcia Forbes presents a copy of her book Music, Media & Adolescent Sexuality in Jamaica to the Principal of her Alma Mater, The Queen's High School for Girls.

UWI Professor endorses book about the influence of music on adolescents

Professor Patricia Mohammed, Professor of Gender and Cultural Studies, University of the West Indies, St Augustine, Trinidad has given Dr Marcia Forbes' book 'Music, Media & Adolescent Sexuality in Jamaica' a glowing review. The following has been excerpted from her review.

Jamaica’s Women’s Coalition marks 1st Anniversary

The 51% Coalition – One Year Later

About fifteen organizations representing a broad cross-section of Jamaican society, including NGOs, the Government and the private sector turned out to participate in a forum hosted to celebrate the first anniversary of the 51% Coalition: Women in Partnership for Development and Empowerment through Equity. This coalition, whose primary thrust is to increase women’s participation in decision-making at the highest levels, now boasts membership of eleven groups, including the Private Sector Organization of Jamaica (PSOJ) and the University of the West Indies’ Institute for Gender and Development Studies.

Music & Media Shaping Behaviours

 

The Bureau of Women’s Affairs in Jamaica partnered with the Blossom O’Meiley-Nelson Foundation to examine ‘The Impact of Public Images on Sexual Violence against Women & Girls’. The following is my presentation which specifically examined the influences of music and media in shaping behaviours. Some of the material here had to be cut from the presentation in view of time constraints.

The Power of Music & Media

Click, Sign On & Cash In

Recently the public relations students at the Caribbean Institute of Media and Communication at the University of the West Indies invited me as their Keynote Speaker to discuss 'The Future of the Business of Social Media in the Caribbean'. This fell under their broader theme which has been modified and used as my captioned title. Excerpts from that presentation are shared here.

CONTESTED VIEW OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Some would argue that the business of social media offers no sustainable model and that in fact social media is an obvious arm of marketing and any plans for the use of social media should be incorporated into a company's marketing plan.

Inner City Jamaican Boys Defy Mugabe

Boys Love the Internet

After Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe's recent piercing comments about Jamaican males, it was heartening to analyse responses from 57 inner-city males who attend non-traditional high schools in the island. These youths wrote their opinions in response to an open-ended survey question - 'What does the Internet mean to you?'

The Internet & Jamaican Inner-City Girls

A Love Affair

"The Internet mean a lot to me, without the Internet I can't survive. It's my life."

"The Internet is the part of the computer I love the most."

"The net is a new world for me that allows me to escape my problems and just talk and hang with friends."

"If I don't have it I would feel different, alone, left out."

"When you can't find information in book you can go to the computer and look up the information...."

What the Internet Means to Me

General information regarding my latest book - Streaming: Social Media, Mobile Lifestyles

Why I wrote: Streaming: Social Media, Mobile Lifestyles

Public Interest versus Economic Imperative: State-Owned versus Privately Owned Television in Jamaica

Jamaica Jubilee Conversations

To have participated in one of the five Jamaica Jubilee Conversations hosted as a part of this island’s celebration of its 50th Anniversary as an Independent nation was an honour. ‘The Evolution of the Media Landscape in Jamaica’ triggered many memories and led to this article.

Sale of JBC TV (and most of JBC radio)

Media Matters, Jamaica 50 & London2012

The Vocal Minority & Jamaica50

There has been an outcry from those who perhaps represent the vocal minority that the Jamaica50 celebrations cannot only be about ‘jump-up’, ‘skin-out’, ‘wine up we body’. We argue that it must also showcase our capacity as a people to stop, reflect and strategize. After all, the past 50 years, while having achieved some successes, have also laid the foundation for numerous challenges in moving Jamaica forward on a growth path. A ‘freeness mentality’ pervades our society and productivity levels are dismal.

Jamaica’s Energy Insecurity

Heavy Burden of Imported Oil

The figures stunned me. Anthony Hylton, Minister of Industry, Investment & Commerce and Julian Robinson, State Minister in the Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy & Mining both spoke at a seminar recently hosted by the Jamaica Public Service, monopoly distributor of electricity in this island. Listening to them I realized that the country’s expenditure on petroleum imports represents close to 30 percent of this island’s gross domestic product (GDP). 

Trade Wars between Jamaica & Trinidad - Trade Facilitation Desk to Quell

The Patty War

Many in the Anglophone Caribbean would have heard of Jamaica’s Patty War with Trinidad. It came to a head in 2009. At its root was what some describe as non-tariff barriers imposed against Jamaica under the guise of the World Trade Organization’s sanitary and phytosanitary  (SPS) guidelines. These WTO guidelines concern food safety and came into effect in 1995. They allow countries to set their own standards so as to ensure that their citizens are not exposed to harmful products.

Women and Girls in ICT

ICT for Women & Girls – Why?

World Telecommunication and Information Society Day was May 17th. This year’s theme focussed on Achieving Equality in ICT for Women and Girls. The State Minister in the Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining in Jamaica, Mr Julian Robinson, was honest when he admitted to being challenged to speak on this theme. After all, based on his knowledge, there are many females in ICT. So, why the need for this attention, he wondered aloud.

ICT Women as New Handmaidens?

Media Freedom and New & Social Media

This article excerpts from my presentation at this week’s celebration of World Press Freedom Day. I was invited by UNESCO to speak on issues pertaining to media freedom in the context of new and social media.

Media Freedom can be examined from the point of view of the consumers that is -- the reader, the listener, the viewer OR from the point of view of the content creator and or distributor – The Media House/The Press/The Citizen Journalist. 

KDP, SEO, DRM – Acronyms for Indie Authors & Self-Publishers

KDP, SEO, DRM – Acronyms for Indie Authors & Self-Publishers
 

KDP
It’s not as easy as they say! Self-publishing is not for the faint-hearted. Apart from numerous acronyms to learn, such as the ones in the title of this blog, it’s definitely not a ‘click and go’ situation. The self-publisher should try to understand what he/she is getting into. This means reading the fine prints. There’s a great deal of that, especially from Amazon, the leading eBook self-publishing platform, with its Kindle Direct Publishing – KDP.

Mobile TV via Cell Phone in Jamaica

There was a great deal of excitement regarding the prospect of mobile TV via one's cell phone. This service was launched in Jamaica one year ago, in January 2011. This is what I wrote at the time. Today it seems the excitement has all but disappeared. The flavour of the day, March 2012, is 4G. Who knows what it will be tomorrow.

Content Drives Demand

Women in Jamaica

March 10, 2012
 

International Women’s Day was celebrated on March 8. Many will argue that every day is women’s day, especially in a country like Jamaica where women make up at least 70 per cent of university graduates and occupy many middle and top level jobs. Some, like The Independent, a UK newspaper, will even argue that a country like Jamaica is in one respect the ‘best place for women’ since, according to them; women occupy a very large percentage of ‘high-skilled jobs’ – 60%. But before we get ahead of ourselves, let us pause for a reality check.

Jamaica 'Best Place for Women Who Want High-Skilled Jobs'

Adele, Celine, Whitney - Melodies that Make Us Cry. Why?

Written Feb. 22, 2012

Lime v/s Digicel - The Battle Continues

Telecoms Way from Way Back When!

Daggering Dancehall

Dancehall daggering was all the rage in 2010. The book, Music, Media & Adolescent Sexuality in Jamaica, captures the many relationships teenagers hold with dancehall music and their accompanying videos. This Clovis image captures the phenomenon and is depicted at the start of the final chapter of that book.

Women & Politics in Jamaica

Patriarchy in Place

The debate rages on around the world and is about to get really hot in Jamaica. Why do so few women enter politics? With women and men almost equally represented in global population statistics and in Jamaica as well, why does gender imbalance at the level of political representation continue to be such an issue? Patriarchy, the globally entrenched system of male dominance, is deeply rooted and strong. There is no evidence to suggest that it will be uprooted any time soon. While men are not about to cede political power, many want to appear more balanced and forward-thinking since based on studies, it is clear that the participation of women at all productive levels of society bodes well for the greater good.

Social Media & Politics in Jamaica

Barack Obama did it. He used social media to great advantage in his Presidential bid. They almost had to pry his Blackberry from his fingers prior to and into the election year 2008 when he swept to power. President Obama became the virtual embodiment of successful use of social networks like YouTube, Twitter and the then still alive, My Space, by a politician. Today every politician dreams of millions of Facebook friends and hundreds of thousands of Twitter followers, a committed base to proselytize on their behalf and eventually to vote for them.

Jamaican Diaspora, Social Media & Strengthening Ties that Bind

Value of the Diaspora

Union of Jamaican Organizations in Atlanta & DeKalb County Honour Dr. Marcia Forbes

August 2011

Kartel - Pet or Pariah?

Debut of Teacha's Pet 

Beyond Buttons: Social Media & Governance

October 3, 2011

Jamaica After Bruce Golding

October 2, 2011

Last week the Caribbean Journal invited me to submit my views regarding the future of politics in Jamaica after Bruce Golding. This request came on the heel of Golding's announced intention to step aside as Pime Minister of Jamaica and as leader of the Jamaica Labour Party, the helm of which he took in 2004.

A Fractious Party

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