CFBC Hosts Successful Research Symposium

Vice President Mrs Stapleton Harris delivering opening remarks at the CFBC Research Symposium 2012

BASSETERRE (23 November 2012)—The Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College held its annual Multi-Disciplinary Research Symposium at its Burdon Street main campus in the true spirit of academic excellence. The eleven presenters included faculty, health and other professionals, and students. The symposium boasted a myriad of topics which examined local environmental and social issues, as well as topics related to the communal ethos of the college.

In her remarks which marked the official launching of the research symposium, Mrs. Delores Stapleton Harris, Vice President Academic and Student Affairs, hailed the Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College: “You little but you tallawah”. The Jamaican expression is used to describe the fortitude of an entity despite its small size, and aptly captures the essence of in-house research projects and educational initiatives being undertaken by the college.

The research symposium was attended by respective presenters, students and faculty, as well as representatives from the University of Health and Medical Sciences (UHMS) and the Ministry of Agriculture. The presence of the nursing students of the college and their lecturers was well noted, as some of these students were instrumental in the manipulation of data for the research paper presented by Ms. Eulynis Browne (Coordinator of Community Nursing Services) on “A Retrospective Study of Teenage Pregnancies by Community Health Districts in St. Kitts for 2007-2011”. They also benefited from the presentation of Mrs. Elneth Toussaint-Harvey on linkages between drug use and criminal behaviour within the prison population of St. Kitts and Nevis.

Dr Kevin Meehan presenting at the Symposium via video conference

Worthy of mention is the presentation of lecturers Dr. Leighton Naraine and Mr. Stuart LaPlace, along with Dr. Kevin Meehan of the University of Central Florida (who joined via video conference) —”A Proposal for Design and Implementation of Non-Traditional Farming Systems for St. Kitts and Nevis”, which is a project that has been submitted for a grant proposal from the Organisation of American States (OAS). This presentation reflected the reverberating effect that novel methods of farming could have on food production and sustainability in the Caribbean region.

In-house presentations by students Kayla Farrell, Hashim Ruan, Roshanni Hazel, Jaida Sutton and Andre Hanley paint a future of promise as it concerns the implementation of research characterised by valid and reliable constructs. Mr. Glenroy Blanchette and Mrs. Gaile Gray-Phillip as faculty, sought to bring a more professional execution to research, as they respectively examined the threats and opportunities of mangrove ponds in St. Kitts and students’ perception of the college’s academic learning environment.

The research symposium has its origins in the Nursing Education Department of the Health Sciences Division when in 1999, the college hosted the first Research Presentation Day under the chairmanship of Mrs. Shirley Kelly. The event has evolved and after a two year hiatus, in 2003 the college hosted its first dubbed “Multi-Disciplinary Research Seminar”. The new research committee implemented in 2010 hosted the first “Multi-Disciplinary Symposium”, and to date the aim has been to facilitate the discussion of progressive research topics.

For more information or to submit proposals for next year’s research symposium kindly send an email to: cfbcresearch@gmail.com