10
UWI TODAY
– SUNDAY 6 MAY, 2018
CAMPUS NEWS
Culturometrics
inMartinique
UWI Prof. Beatrice Boufoy-Bastick
was invited, under
the European UA-UWI ERASMUS+ agreement, to give
a series of Doctoral Seminars in French to 93 Doctoral
students at the
Université des Antilles, Martinique (UA)
– at the CRILLASH research centre,
Faculté des Lettres et
Sciences Humaines, UA, Martinique
in March.
Prof. Boufoy-Bastick was invited as the initiator of
Culturometrics. Culturometrics is a powerful new research
paradigm for affirming and measuring cultural identities
of social-science constructs. Her Doctoral Seminars and
advanced Doctoral Workshops demonstrated the use of
Culturometric methods for researching social-science
constructs in the History, Education and Identity of
the English-speaking Caribbean, from pre-slavery to
state separatism. The Doctoral students quickly realised
advantages the culturometric perspective gave them
in visioning their theses and enhancing the practical
significance of their research.
Ouditt for
Wellcome
Visual Arts lecturer,
Steve Ouditt has been
awarded a place to
attend the Wellcome
Collection’s Ideas
Hub this coming
September. The Hub
offers artists and
designers who work
on projects that focus
on art, life, medicine
and science, a space
to interact and share their ideas with a small
group – just around 20 – from around the world.
Ouditt has been a lecturer in visual arts at the
Department of Creative and Festival Arts since
2003 at UWI, St Augustine. He has exhibited at
the Tenth Havana Bienal in Cuba in 2009. He has
also exhibited at the Third Guangzhou Triennial
2008 at the GuangdongMuseum of Art in China,
and inNewYork at the BrooklynMuseum [2007],
in Reykjavik Iceland at The Living Art Museum
[2006], in London at the inIVA space [2000], and
Camden Arts Centre and 198 Gallery Brixton
[1997], in Manchester at The Cornerhouse
Gallery [1997], in Glasgow, Scotland at the cca
[1997], and in Santo Domingo, Dominican
Republic at National Art Gallery [1995] He has
made presentations at the University of Havana
in Cuba, the Tate Modern in London, Brooklyn
Museum in New York, and at the Reykjavik
Academie in Iceland. Ouditt studied at the School
of Visual Arts inNewYork, Goldsmiths College at
the University of London, and was a Researcher
at the Jan van Eyck Academy in Maastricht,
Netherlands.
Emerging plant diseases
are caused by pathogens which
can develop into epidemics that may be both unexpected
and devastating. These diseases may be newly discovered
or recognized ones and are caused by pathogens that have
increased in incidence or a change in geographical/host
range or newly evolved pathogens.
A significant number has been recorded as emerging
diseases in the Caribbean region and they are considered
a serious threat to plant growth and productivity and
consequently, to regional food security.
The Plant-Microbe research group at the Department
of Life Sciences (DLS) has identified several emerging
pathogens of vegetable crops of the Caribbean region
through extensive field surveys and laboratory research.
However, practically there are serious challenges associated
with the identification of emerging diseases, detection of
pathogens and further control of such diseases in the field.
The group held a training programme in December
2017 with the United Nations University-BIOLAC
Programme on “Molecular Diagnosis of Emerging Plant
Diseases and Integrated Management of Plant Health.” It
was meant to highlight the current knowledge inmolecular
diagnosis of emerging plant diseases in the Caribbean region
and application of biotechnological approaches for field
disease management.
The 27 trainees included agricultural officers, extension
officers, technicians, laboratory managers, researchers and
students from around the Caribbean.
The inaugural ceremony was chaired by Dr. Margaret
Participants and the training crew share a moment at the St. Augustine Campus.
Emerging Plant Diseases
A threat to regional food security
Bernard, Deputy Dean for Graduate Studies, Research and
Innovation, FST. Dr. Adesh Ramsubhag, Head DLS and Co-
Programme Director welcomed the gathering. Prof. Jayaraj
Jayaraman, Director, UNU-BIOLAC Training, introduced
the objectives and activities of the training programme. Prof.
Indar Ramnarine, St. Augustine Campus Deputy Principal,
and Mr. Dale Nandlal, Director of the Research Division of
the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries, brought
greetings.
Senator Avinash Singh, Parliamentary Secretary in the
Ministry of Agriculture, spoke on the importance of the
diseases vis-a-vis national food security. Mr. Nelson Leville,
Head of the Plant Protection and Quarantine, Ministry of
Agriculture, Dominica, spoke on behalf of the trainees. Mr.
Antonio Ramkissoon, Research. Associate, DLS, delivered
the vote of thanks.
Several topics were covered in the training through
lectures and discussions, and practical laboratory sessions
provided hands-on experience on classical methods of
disease diagnosis, pathogen isolation, and others. During
the sessions, various strategies for management of emerging
plant diseases were discussed.
The crucial role of UWI in offering knowledge support
for addressing this important challenge on food security
was very much sought and highlighted by the participants
and the partnering institutions. The conveners assured of
the University’s continued engagement on research and
development and organization of subsequent trainings in
the near future.
Advanced Doctoral workshops in Culturometric methods at the Université des Antilles, Martinique from UWI’s,
Prof. Béatrice Boufoy-Bastick.
