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News > Student Research Thrives at The College of The Bahamas
Student Research Thrives at The College of The Bahamas One study surmised that the proper marketing of Junkanoo could reap huge economic benefits for The Bahamas. Another found that interactive television programming has vast implications for bolstering literacy levels among adults, while a third explored in intricate detail the dynamic link between job satisfaction in working Bahamian women and their psychological health. Undergraduate and graduate students at The College of The Bahamas are not merely taking classroom instruction. Nurtured in an environment of active learning and critical thinking, many of them are already adding to the body of knowledge that exists by undertaking their own comprehensive research projects in a broad range of disciplines. For a second consecutive year, COB students - advised by faculty - participated in the Student Research Symposium which serves the dual purpose of encouraging students to conduct research while also showcasing their findings to a broad audience of the College Community and the public. Their work is particularly significant as The College continues to evolve and expand its research commitment and engagements. "Research is at the centre of the work of an institution of higher learning," said Valdez K. Russell, Research Coordinator. "We are enabling our students to continue to ask critical questions and uncover data that could prove invaluable in making and altering policy decisions, informing public sentiment and building our country." The Office of Research, Graduate Programmes and International Relations organised the research symposium, the first of which was held in 2009. This year, almost 50 students - both graduate and undergraduate - submitted research entries on topics that explored aspects of psychological and medical health; literacy; culture and ecology. Some students worked in groups on their submissions which were judged by a panel of COB faculty and external professionals. At the end of the day long symposium held recently Javardo McIntosh, a Bio-Chem major, won in the undergraduate division for his research on Parasites in Wild Birds. The first runner up was Bio-Chem major, Arvis Mortimer, who researched Assessing the Relationship Between Gum Chewing and Memory Recall. McIntosh investigated the parasitic threat of invasive bird species to indigenous birds in The Bahamas to determine the prevalence and intensity of these parasites. McIntosh studied 40 birds in total, 20 indigenous and 20 invasive, and conducted microscopic analysis to determine the presence of ecto-parasites. He found evidence of flatworms and roundworms, serious predatory threats to wildlife. "Although this is still a work in progress, the data collected thus far suggests that these [invasive] birds can serve as hosts to several species of parasites thereby raising the question of their role in the transmission of parasitic infections to indigenous birds and possibly humans," McIntosh surmised. In the graduate division, Elementary Education major, Nerissa Hamilton, was the winner as her research project on The Effect of an Interactive Literacy Television Programme on the Literacy Level of an Adult Non-Reader was the only submission in that category. Hamilton posited that there is a need to establish adult literacy programmes that employ methods that bring about success as quickly as possible and studied the effect of watching an interactive literacy television programme, Literacy for Life, on the literacy level of an adult non-reader over a period of seven weeks. The study found positive results, she reported. "The participant experienced positive gains. His reading level increased and he achieved overall increases in scores for the Screening and Diagnostic Inventory and Checkups," Hamilton found. "The results from the audio-taped reading and the responses from the Participant Post Intervention Survey were both positive. After an indication of success due to this intervention, the television series can serve as a tool to supplement the current practice of using written material in one-on-one tutoring of adult learners." Faculty and student research has thrived at The College as the institution embraces its mission of supporting national development through education, research and innovation and service. Over the years, scientific investigations have run the gamut and at times also involved collaboration with leading international institutions including the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM); the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO); the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO); the International Labour Organisation (ILO); the Economic Commission for Latin America & the Caribbean (ECLAC); and the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI).
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