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On the theoretical level, this chapter examines the mechanisms through which cultural and financial capital affects educational outcomes in different institutional contexts. On the methodological level, the central question in this chapter is how to resolve concerns in comparative analyses of educational attainment, such as variations in enrolment rates and study program duration across institutional settings. On the empirical level, the chapter asks whether family background predicts educational attainment in similar ways in two diametrically opposed welfare states: the United States and Norway. Differences in dropout from higher education were compared using nationally representative longitudinal data from the United States and Norway and event history and multilevel modelling techniques. The chapter also makes use of the standardized sheaf coefficient to summarize central background variables for more direct comparison of effect sizes. The findings show that whereas parents’ education level has strikingly similar effects on students’ dropout probabilities in the two countries, the effect of parents’ income varies substantially according to the institutional context. The chapter concludes that in comparative analyses of inequality in education the value of different types of family resources must be understood in light of the concrete, practical constraints of the national institutional contexts.

This chapter reviews the media's fascination with one of the most infamous women in Canadian history. Karla Homolka was found guilty of manslaughter in the deaths of two Ontario teenage girls in the early 1990s. Her husband, Paul Bernardo, was convicted on a number of charges associated with these deaths, including sexual assault and first degree murder. The chapter traces the initial print reports of the arrest, trial and sentencing of Karla Homolka; the application of the ‘Ken and Barbie’ moniker as a description of Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo; and the characterization of Karla Homolka's sentencing as the proverbial ‘deal with the devil’. The media continued to pursue Karla Homolka long after she had completed her twelve-year prison sentence and was released into the community. The media's evolution in coverage of this case is described, and it is argued that Karla Homolka's treatment by the media was, and continues to be, an example of the kind of biased coverage that illustrates the gendered manner in which violence is conceptualized in our society, and calls into question the structural and systematic condemnation that is directed towards those women who commit violent crimes. This chapter emphasizes that the lens through which the media covers violent crimes for which women are accused and/or convicted is often clouded with vitriol and malevolence.

This chapter contextualises and provides an overview of the development and current state of the profession of research management and administration in the English-speaking Caribbean. In addition, the chapter shows that Research Management and Administration is an emerging profession that is beginning to take root in CARICOM countries, especially as demonstrated by the leading HEIs in which it is recognised that research administration functions are important in supporting and adding value to the research agendas of these institutions and their larger mission of contributing to the sustainable development of the region.

This study examines the problem of unequal access to the Caribbean ICT industry on the part of women, and considers causes, consequences and possible solutions. The latter includes integrating gender perspectives in ICT policies and programmes to increase access for all to education and employment opportunities for national development.

Mixed Methods research techniques (questionnaire surveys, elite interviews and focus group discussions) were used to collect data from national stakeholders in Jamaica and St Lucia.

Despite policy commitments to gender equality and the deployment of ICTs to promote development, significant gaps persist between policy and practice. Results show that disadvantages in ICT access for women result in gender differences in sector involvement. Gender socialisation and the resulting discrimination in education and employment undermine commitments to inclusive development. Consequences include untapped opportunities for innovation, efficiency and business along the ICT value chain relating to development.

Case studies only represent Anglophone Caribbean and may not reflect all subregional contexts.

The paper demonstrates the value of collecting, analysing and using data disaggregated by sex to identify needs of vulnerable groups relating to inclusive development.

Equitable access to ICTs for women through training, community Internet-access-points, and support to establish/expand Micro Small and Medium-sized Enterprises will enable women to combine paid and unpaid family caregiving work and to participate in the ICT value chain.

There is a dearth of gender-based analysis of ICT policymaking in the Caribbean. The paper contributes theoretical, methodological and policy analysis geared towards understanding and promoting inclusive access and gender equality in ICTs for sustainable development in the Caribbean.

Purpose: Researchers and advocates alike have noted that persons with disabilities and older persons are the two groups most marginalized by neoliberal economic policies and therefore could come together as a broad-based movement against the roll back of their rights. Yet, these two groups fail to collaborate, and instead compete against one another for an ever-shrinking pool of benefits. This chapter explores the barriers to their collaboration within the context of structural adjustment in Jamaica.

Methods/Approach: The author engages in a critical analysis of neoliberalism's effect on the advocacy strategies of the disability and older persons' movements in Jamaica based on 32 semi-directed depth interviews, participant observation of numerous events, and a survey of media written by local advocates.

Findings: The disability movement makes claims on behalf of their members by focusing on the potential returns that society will gain by providing the opportunities that will make young persons with disabilities productive employees over their lifetime. The older persons' movement advocates by portraying themselves as “vibrant” and worthy of social investment because of the contributions they make. Both of these arguments for inclusion are also exclusionary. The disability movement excludes older persons as potential contributors and the older persons' movement similarly excludes persons with disabilities.

Implications: The only way neoliberalism will successfully be rolled back and universal rights returned is if the disability movement and older persons' movements build an alliance that is more inclusive, including of one another, by rejecting the language of investment and productivity, and instead focus on rights and inherent dignity.