Divisions The University of the Southern Caribbean (USC) is a private university owned and operated by the Caribbean Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. The main campus is located on 384 acres (1.55 km2) of land in the Maracas Valley on the island of Trinidad of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. There are also six satellite extension campuses located in Scarborough, Trinidad and Tobago; San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago; Georgetown, Guyana; Bridgetown, Barbados; Castries, St. Lucia; and St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda. One other satellite campus is in the planning for St. George's, Grenada.The University offers courses to foster values-based education. The curriculum not only focuses on the academic, but has a holistic emphasis—an education that attends to the mind, soul, and body.It is a part of the Seventh-day Adventist education system, the world's second largest Christian school system.
The cultural discourse metaphors ‘doh beat up’ and ‘doh take it on’ in Trinidad and Tobago capture the local sentiments of releasing self-condemnation after experiencing failure, wrongdoing, or circumstances beyond one’s control. In this study, we examined the direct and indirect relationships between religious commitment, self-forgiveness, and self-condemnation. Data were collected using an online survey of 259 adults (Mage = 40; 76% female) living in Trinidad and Tobago. Path analyses showed that higher religious commitment was directly associated with lower levels of shame. Value reorientation self-forgiveness was associated with increased guilt and shame, while esteem restoration self-forgiveness was associated with reduced shame. Tests of indirect effects showed that religious commitment was indirectly associated with self-condemnation through self-forgiveness. Our findings suggest that religious commitment and self-forgiveness may play a protective role in relation to self-condemnation among Caribbean adults. Nevertheless, the cross-sectional design limits causal interpretation of these relationships.
Abstract Self-forgiveness is a multidimensional construct involving both hedonic processes, primarily related to fostering self-compassion and alleviating self-condemnation, and eudaimonic processes, focused on moral repair and value reorientation. While previous research has linked self-forgiveness to lower suicidality, little is known about whether these components operate similarly across different levels of suicide-related cognitions. This study examined the associations between the hedonic (esteem restoration; ERS) and eudaimonic (value reorientation; VRO) components of self-forgiveness and suicide-related cognitions in a general population sample from Trinidad and Tobago, using quantile regression. This cross-sectional study was conducted online via Qualtrics in 2023 with 869 English-speaking adults. Suicide-related cognitions were measured using the Brief Suicide Cognitions Scale, and self-forgiveness was assessed with the Self-Forgiveness Dual-Process Scale, comprising the VRO and ERS subscales. Quantile regression analyses were conducted at the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles of suicide-related cognition scores, controlling for demographic characteristics. Robust linear regression using Huber’s M-estimator was also performed to assess model stability. Quantile regression indicated that ERS was linked to significantly lower suicide-related cognitions at all examined quantiles, with the strongest associations observed at the 50th and 75th percentiles (β = –0.47, p < .001 for both). VRO (eudaimonic component) showed a significant negative association only at the 75th percentile (β = –0.13, p = .045). For comparison, robust linear regression using Huber’s M-estimator showed a significant negative association for ERS, whereas VRO was not statistically significant. This study underscores the importance of examining self-forgiveness beyond average effects, as its components may not operate uniformly across suicide-related-cognition levels. The use of quantile regression highlights these differences and points to the need for future longitudinal research to examine whether these associations reflect processes relevant to suicide prevention.
Es con un profundo sentido de responsabilidad intelectual y un vibrante entusiasmo que presentamos al mundo académico el volumen 1, número 1, de la Revista del Mar Caribe. Este nacimiento editorial no es un evento aislado; es la respuesta a una necesidad histórica y un compromiso con el porvenir de nuestro pensamiento. Durante siglos, América Latina y el Caribe han sido más a menudo objeto de estudio filosófico que sujeto soberano de su propia enunciación. Hemos habitado una tensión constante entre la adopción de cánones universales —casi siempre de cuño europeo o norteamericano— y la urgente necesidad de forjar herramientas conceptuales que respondan a nuestras realidades concretas: nuestras historias de resistencia, nuestras estructuras sociales únicas, nuestras ontologías mestizas y nuestras urgencias políticas. La filosofía en nuestra región nunca ha sido un mero ejercicio especulativo de salón. Ha sido, y debe ser, un arma de liberación, una herramienta de diagnóstico crítico y un horizonte de utopía. Esta revista nace con una vocación clara: ser el ágora rigurosa en la que converjan estas búsquedas. No aspiramos simplemente a ser un repositorio de filosofía sobre la región. Aspiramos a ser una plataforma para la filosofía desde y para América Latina y el Caribe. Buscamos fomentar un diálogo que trascienda las fronteras lingüísticas que han fragmentado nuestro continente intelectual —conectando el pensamiento en español, portugués, francés, inglés y en las lenguas originarias—. Nuestra apuesta es por un rigor "científico" que no teme dialogar con la decolonialidad; por una epistemología que reconoce los "saberes del sur" y por una ética anclada en la justicia social y la ecología integral. En las páginas que siguen y en las que vendrán, el lector encontrará un espacio dedicado a la deconstrucción de los relatos hegemónicos, pero, sobre todo, a la construcción de nuevas categorías. Exploraremos desde las relecturas de la tradición filosófica occidental a la luz de nuestras experiencias, hasta las formulaciones más originales de la filosofía intercultural, la ética de la liberación, las epistemologías marxistas y los debates ontológicos que surgen de nuestro complejo presente. Este primer número es un cimiento. Es una invitación abierta a investigadores, profesores y estudiantes para que se unan a esta conversación vital. Estamos convencidos de que la filosofía latinoamericana y caribeña tiene una voz indispensable en el debate global, no por un sentido de particularismo exótico, sino porque las encrucijadas que enfrentamos hoy —la desigualdad, la crisis climática, la migración y la identidad— son, en gran medida, las encrucijadas del mundo. Bienvenidos a este espacio de pensamiento crítico. Bienvenidos a la filosofía en su giro latinoamericano.
This paper explores Haiti’s contemporary political and economic challenges through the lens of its historical development and constructivist theory in international relations. Rather than attributing Haiti’s persistent marginalization solely to material shortcomings or governance failures, the study emphasizes the importance of socially constructed perceptions and historical narratives that have shaped both Haiti’s domestic institutions and its position in the international system. It argues that international norms, colonial legacies, and discursive practices have consistently portrayed Haiti as an anomaly within the Caribbean and global order. The paper analyzes how the Haitian Revolution, post-independence isolation, and repeated foreign interventions have contributed to a collective international perception of Haiti as politically unstable and economically fragile. Drawing on constructivist insights, the study underscores the significance of ideational forces—such as identity, reputation, and legitimacy—in understanding how Haiti is governed internally and perceived externally. Ultimately, the paper calls for a reevaluation of international engagement with Haiti that takes into account not only structural reforms but also the transformation of embedded global narratives.
