The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 17 English-speaking countries and territories in the Caribbean: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turks and Caicos Islands.Each country is either a member of the Commonwealth of Nations or a British Overseas Territory. The aim of the university is to help "unlock the potential for economic and cultural growth" in the West Indies, thus allowing improved regional autonomy. The university was originally instituted as an independent external college of the University of London.The university has produced students who have excelled in a number of disciplines such as the arts and sciences, business, politics, and sports. Notable alumni and faculty include three Nobel Laureates, 72 Rhodes Scholars, three Gates Cambridge Scholarship winners, one Emmy award winner, one Man Booker Prize winner, one American Book Awards winner, multiple Commonwealth Short Story Prize winners, 18 current or former Caribbean Heads of Government, an Olympic gold medallist, among other award winners. The university's cricket team previously participated in West Indian domestic cricket, but now participates as part of a Combined Campuses and Colleges team.The UWI campus in Mona, Jamaica serves as the headquarters of the UWI system. Aside from UWI Mona, UWI has four major university centres: UWI Cave Hill (Barbados), UWI St. Augustine (Trinidad and Tobago), UWI Five Islands (Antigua and Barbuda), and the regional UWI Open Campus in the UWI-funding Caribbean nations. Lucia, St.
Introduction: Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome (PMOS) is the most common endocrine disorder in reproductive-aged women, affecting 10–13% globally, yet remains underdiagnosed in underrepresented regions. This study provides the first assessment of ultrasound-confirmed PMOS in Trinidad, examining the clinical, reproductive, dermatologic, and psychological profiles. Methods and Materials: In this cross-sectional study, women aged 18-45 years were recruited via social media and community outreach and completed a standardized electronic Clinical Report Form assessing reproductive history, androgenic features (modified Ferriman–Gallwey score, alopecia staging, acanthosis nigricans), and depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory-II). Participants were classified as No PMOS, Probable PMOS, or Confirmed using the National Institutes of Health 1990, Rotterdam 2003, and the 2003 International PMOS Guidelines. Group differences were assessed using ANOVA/Kruskal–Wallis tests and multinomial logistic regression to estimate adjusted odds ratios (adjusted odds ratio, 95% CI). Results: Of 301 women recruited, 43 (14%) had ultrasound-confirmed PMOS and 13 (4%) probable PMOS. Confirmed cases appeared younger (24.2 ± 5.8 vs. 29.8 ± 6.3 years; p = 0.006) but showed similar Body Mass Index (BMI) and lifestyle factors (alcohol, smoking and exercise) (p > 0.05). PMOS was associated with longer cycles (p = 0.009), fewer live births (p = 0.002), and greater use of oral contraceptives (OR 8.62, 95% CI 4.13–17.98; p < 0.001). Cutaneous featuresacne (OR 4.4), alopecia (OR 6.7), and acanthosis nigricans (OR 2.9) were significantly higher in PMOS groups. Depressive symptom severity increased with PMOS status (all p ≤ 0.001). Discussion: This study provides the first community-based description of ultrasound-confirmed PMOS in Trinidad, showing a clear pattern of reproductive disruption, hyperandrogenic skin features, and a higher burden of depressive symptoms compared with women without PMOS. Although BMI and lifestyle behaviors were similar across groups, the strong links with contraceptive and metformin use suggest that many diagnosed women may already be engaging in clinical management. Conclusion: These preliminary findings from ultrasound-confirmed women with PMOS in Trinidad present clinical, reproductive, dermatologic, and psychological profiles broadly consistent with global patterns, though the modest confirmed-PMOS sample warrants replication in larger, multisite studies before generalization.
This commentary discusses Shiffrin, Stigler, and Keil (2025) on illusions of understanding in science, focusing on linear regression as a key example where predictive success is often mistaken for causal insight. It highlights how statistical paradoxes and specification issues reveal the gap between formal accuracy and true understanding, and extends the discussion to pedagogical and sociological factors that reinforce these illusions.
This article presents a phenomenology dataset collected in Trinidad and Tobago, focusing on the lived experiences of parents of children with special needs. The dataset captures rich, first-hand accounts of the emotional, social, and practical challenges encountered by parents, as well as their interactions with local healthcare, educational, and social support systems. Ethical approval was obtained from the Campus Research Ethics Committee, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, and all participants provided informed verbal consent before participation.Data were collected through semi-structured one-on-one interviews conducted virtually via Zoom to ensure accessibility, confidentiality, and participant comfort. Although participants were given the option of in-person interviews, all opted for virtual participation. Recruitment was facilitated through advocacy and community organizations supporting special needs families. Purposive and snowball sampling methods were employed to select 15 participants who met the inclusion criteria of being parents of special needs dependents. The participants varied across several demographic characteristics. Their ages ranged from 31 to 69 years. Marital status included single, married, and widowed individuals. Participants had between one and four children, with some having one or two children with special needs. Educational attainment ranged from secondary-level education to tertiary-level education. Both male and female participants were represented. All interviews were transcribed verbatim and anonymized before analysis. Thematic analysis was performed using QDA Miner software through a multistage process involving data coding, categorization, and synthesis. Data saturation determined the final sample size, ensuring adequate depth and diversity across socioeconomic, geographic, and disability type variations.The dataset includes anonymized interview transcripts and coded output tables produced during thematic analysis. It provides detailed qualitative evidence on caregiving practices, systemic barriers, and psychosocial impacts experienced by parents of special needs children in a small-island developing state. The dataset offers strong potential for reuse in cross-cultural or longitudinal analyses on caregiver well-being, disability inclusion, and social support mechanisms, as well as for informing evidence-based policy development and program design in similar regional contexts.
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The use of Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) as a pedagogical tool for chemistry has gained momentum over the past decade. However, less is known about the specific dimensions of student interest that may or may not shift following IVR integration under authentic instructional constraints. This quasi-experimental pre-test post-test study examined the effects of smartphone-based IVR implementation on undergraduate chemistry interest and academic performance in a Caribbean university context. Two equivalent groups (Test, n = 58; Control, n = 58) completed the Chemistry Study Interest Questionnaire (C-SIQ) before and after the intervention, and a 60-item achievement test across six introductory topics. The Test group demonstrated significant gains in overall interest (p = 1.52 & times; 10(-2)) and in the dimension of intrinsic orientation (p = 4.47 & times; 10(-4)), while feelings-related and value-related valences did not change significantly (p > 0.05). Achievement outcomes favoured the Test group overall (p = 1.27 & times; 10(-21)). These findings are consistent with theoretical perspectives suggesting that IVR affordances may align more strongly with intrinsic motivational processes than affective or value-based components. The study contributes evidence from a resource-constrained Small Island Developing State (SIDS) context and highlights the importance of theoretical alignment and topic sensitivity in evaluating IVR integration in chemistry education.
