The UWI is dubbed a ‘research’ institution; this is our competitive advantage and what has helped us gain international notoriety especially through the Times Higher Education ranking system. “
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Rebuilding Foundations that foster Staff Development
8.1 RESEARCH SUPPORT FOR STAFF Information Literacy Sessions to Improve Research Skills – Foundation and Subject Courses The Library sustained its support of teaching and learning at the Mona Campus, through various information literacy and foundation sessions offered to general and specific groups. The year concluded with the Mona Information Literacy Unit delivering 141 sessions to 5591 participants in the Main and Branch Libraries. One of the objectives of the Mona Library’s Mona Information Literacy Unit (MILU), is to support teaching and learning at The UWI, Mona Campus. Since the start of the pandemic, the MILU has operated largely online, however, during the year under review the Unit delivered hybrid sessions in Foundation English Information Literacy each semester including summer. Other instruction sessions were held throughout the year, both internally and largely externally, to undergraduate and postgraduate students and the wider UWI community. These included training for librarians towards effective reviewing of theses, which was extended to librarians at other UWI campuses. Scrutiny sessions for citation styles such as APA, Chicago, MLA and ACS were also welcomed by the Campus community. Requests were also received from faculty, academic departments, and postgraduates to deliver training sessions on particular areas including predatory journals, using EndNote, and preparing thesis for submission. Liaison Librarians: Supporting Teaching and Research Liaison Librarians provided a range of support initiatives to faculty and academic departments
including new programme/course reviews, quality reviews, Faculty Board/Department sessions, CV reviews, and verification of journal publications. The revamped programme focused on alignment with global trends, whilst cognisant of burnout amongst the Mona librarians. A Liaison Librarian Committee was established through a process of self- nomination. Albeit, efforts were made to ensure full representation from the Main and Branch libraries, and librarians at the different levels. In order to fulfil the commitment to providing staff with the professional tools to support increased efficiency of teaching, learning, and research needs, a workshop on “Embedded Librarianship” was conducted on July 19, 2022 by Dr. Karen Reed, Associate Professor and Education Librarian, at the Middle Tennessee State University, USA. FSS Research Writers’ Retreat An FSS Research Writers’ Retreat organised by the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies, was held between January 6 and 9, 2022, at the Golden Shore Resort in Lyssons, St. Thomas. A total of 13 staff members attended either physically or virtually. Three Professors-in-Residence (Prof. Rupert Lewis, Prof. Christopher Charles and Emeritus Prof. Evan Duggan) provided mentorship and support to the participants. Progress was tracked throughout the 2021-2022 academic year, and it was noted that the Retreat helped to see the completion of the following three books: • Doreen Gordon. “Blackness and Social Mobility in Brazil: Contemporary Transformations” (2022). Palgrave Macmillan • Trevor A. Smith. “Marketing Effectiveness and Accountability in SMEs: A Multimethodological Approach” (2022). Springer International Publishing
INTRODUCTION
O Our researchers already have a footprint in key areas that impact social, psychological, economic and climate change development among other fields. During the period under review, despite financial constraints, efforts were made to provide the resources necessary to advance their work and generate sufficient interest among a new generation of researchers. The UWI is dubbed a ‘research’ institution; this is our competitive advantage and what has helped us gain international notoriety especially through the Times Higher Education ranking system. The Mona Campus aims, together with its sister Campuses, to rise higher and higher on this measured scale of global excellence. The 2021-2022 academic year presented challenges as staff adjusted to the demands of the new normal. Health and Wellness events were staged by various entities on the Campus to manage the impact of the transition process. Staff development initiatives were not as prevalent because of the increased
ur accomplishments as a Campus were realised through the hard work and dedication of The UWI staff. Their resilience provided the platform for the Campus to further its teaching, learning, research and outreach initiatives.
focus on developing and implementing policies and procedures, such as the Work-from-Home Policy, to maintain the safety and productivity of our staff. Staff recognition activities, however, remained a priority. The Long Service Award for staff was therefore held on Thursday, December 1, 2022. The event was held under the theme “Resilience through Agility” because of the demonstrable impact and value of The UWI’s contribution to successfully containing the COVID-19 pandemic in the Caribbean region. Awards were presented to 360 members of the academic, administrative, professional, technical and support services staff who have served the institution for periods exceeding 15, 21, 30 and 40 years. During the reporting period, the Campus also recognised staff who received special awards for their contributions to local and international efforts.
• Trevor A. Smith and Kenroy C. Wedderburn. “Compulsive Buying: Consumer Traits, Self-
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