scholarly journals Scientific Literacy of Undergraduate Chemistry Students in the University of the West Indies, Barbados: Individual and Joint Contributions of Age, Sex and Level of Study

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 41-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leah Garner-O’Neale ◽  
Jelisa Maughan ◽  
Babalola Ogunkola
Keyword(s):  
Linear Regression ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Scientific Literacy ◽  
West Indies ◽  
The West ◽  
Chemistry Students ◽  
Undergraduate Chemistry ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The University ◽  
Age Range

The purpose of this study was two-fold. Firstly, to determine the level of scientific literacy of Chemistry undergraduate students at The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus and secondly to investigate the individual and joint contributions of sex, age and level of study to the level of scientific literacy of the students. A total of one hundred and one (101) Chemistry undergraduate students from across the preliminary, 1st, 2nd and final years, participated in the study. The instrument chosen for this investigation, was the Basic Scientific Literacy Questionnaire (BSLQ) developed by Richard Carrier in 2001, which consisted of twenty-four (24) „True‟ and „False‟ questions. The instrument was found to be reliable with Crombach Alpha value of 0.6. The contributions of the variables sex, age range and level of study to the level of scientific literacy, were also analyzed and these were done via Independent Sample t-tests, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and linear regression. A confidence level of 95 % was the set level for all of the analyses conducted. It was found that overall, the Chemistry undergraduate students are at a „Good‟ level of scientific literacy. There were no statistically significant differences in the level of scientific literacy based on age range and level of study. However, sex was found to have contributed most and significantly to variations in the level of scientific literacy of the undergraduate chemistry students.

Screening for psychiatric illness among students of the University of The West Indies, Trinidad

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mungrue Kameel ◽  
Mohammed Kamal
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
West Indies ◽  
General Health Questionnaire ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Medical Sciences ◽  
The West ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
African Group ◽  
The University ◽  
Relationship Of

Abstract Method: This cross-sectional observational study was performed in 2007 by convenience sampling of 1031 full-time undergraduate students registered in years 1, 2 and 3 in the academic year 2007/2008, administering a basic demographics questionnaire along with the standardised General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28) to each participant. Results: The population of full-time students at the University of the West Indies (UWI) was found to be mentally healthy (median GHQ score was 5.00; GHQ=6 considered “mentally unhealthy”). However, median GHQ scores were lowest (4.00) in the Faculties of Medical Sciences and Social Sciences, but highest (6.00) in the Faculty of Humanities and Education. Furthermore, analysis showed that females were less mentally healthy than males attending the UWI. With regard to ethnicity, the African group was the most mentally healthy group whereas the group of mixed ethnicity was the least. Religion was also shown to significantly affect the GHQ (4.00 for Christians and Hindus, 6.00 for Muslims and 8.00 for those categorized as ‘other’). Most interesting was the relationship of GHQ scores with the manner in which participants related to their lecturers, classmates, guardians, siblings and friends; it was found that the better one related to these people, the lower one’s GHQ score was and hence one was considered more mentally healthy. Conclusions: UWI full-time undergraduate students are mentally healthy, but gender, ethnicity, religion, quality of relationships and faculty of study still contribute to significant differences within the population. This allows high-risk individuals to be identified and indicates where steps can be taken to improve mental health.

Family Background and Psychiatric Disorders

1973 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 209-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. S. Marriott
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Differences ◽  
West Indies ◽  
Family Background ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
University Hospital ◽  
Racial Groups ◽  
The West ◽  
Parental Absence ◽  
Psychiatric Units ◽  
The University

The admissions to the Psychiatric Unit of the University Hospital of the West Indies during a 15-month period from September 1966 to January 1968 have been reviewed with special reference to family background. Despite cultural differences the pattern of admissions was very similar to that of psychiatric units in more highly developed countries. The various racial groups in the island were represented and included a high proportion of white alcoholics. Parental absence in childhood was largely related to social class but there was a definite association between parental absence in childhood and psychologically precipitated depression.

The Relationship of Cambridge GCE Results with the Jamaican Graduate Output from UWI

1975 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-118
Author(s):  
Marlene Hamilton
Keyword(s):  
West Indies ◽  
Natural Sciences ◽  
The West ◽  
Main Interest ◽  
The University ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

This paper seeks to investigate possible links between Cambridge examination results in the General Certificate of Education "O" and "A" level examinations over the years, and the annual Jamaican graduate output from the University of the West Indies. Although all faculties are considered, the main interest lies in numbers of graduates from the faculties of Natural Sciences, Engineering, Agriculture and Medicine, linked with passes gained in science subjects at both "O" and "A" level GCE examinations.

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