RATIONALE
Over the past 20 years, technological advancements have served to make the world a
smaller place. With fax in the place of telegrams, email in the place of letters and the creation
of the internet and social networking the world is narrowed and its proportions has become
virtually pocket-sized.
These innovations have helped the world in many ways but there are disadvantages as
well. With the United States of America deemed as the ‘super power’ of the Western
Hemisphere more and more people are trying to be American in order to achieve success.
Despite the rich cultural heritage of Jamaica more and more you hear persons ‘twanging’ and
using expressions like ‘dude’ – words that are stereotypically American. The purpose of this
research is to determine just how the use of the internet and the impact of cable television has
contributed to the Americanization of students in Brown High School between grades 7 and 9.
SECTION ONE
THESIS : The high level of internet and cable usage among students of grade seven to nine of
Brown High School has decreased the overall awareness of typical Jamaican folklore and
customs.
Aim: Identify the relationship between internet, cable usage and Americanization
OBJECTIVES:
1. Research the level of internet and cable usage among lower school students
of Brown High School
2. Research the percentage of lower school students who are aware of typical
Jamaican folklore and customs
3. Outline effects of cable and internet on the awareness of Jamaican folk
culture but Brown students between grades 7 and 9
4. Draw conclusions, state variables and make recommendations
Section TWO
THE RESEARCH DESIGN
For the purpose of this research a structured interview was used. Candidates were randomly
selected and each asked the same twenty-seven (27) questions on a one-on-one basis and their
answers recorded. The final few questions were left open ended. This gave the candidate a
chance to relate to the interviewer knowledge of any folklore and custom they knew and based
on the validity of their answer a yes or no was recorded – this answer was kept from the
candidate. This served as the primary data. The use of structured interviews had a number of
advantages.
SAMPLE
The interview was administered to one hundred and fifteen (130) candidates by the researcher
in groups of four to five students at each time. The candidates were randomly selected and
each interview session lasted a maximum of ten (10) minutes. Brown High School’s Lower
School consists of eight classes for each grade level – seven, eight and nine. Both males and
females were interviewed and the sample population age ranged from 11 to 16.
DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENT
You have been randomly selected to participate in a study for an Internal Assessment for Cape Sociology. These questions are simply to answer, most requiring a listed option, and the entire process should take no longer than 10 minutes. There is no right or wrong answers and each answer provided is strictly confidential and will only be used for the purpose of this study. Thanks in advance,
Student, CAPE Sociology Interview Sheet
1. Age: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
2. Sex: M F
3. Grade: ____
4. Religion/ Denomination: _________________
5. Parish of residence: _______________
6. Type of family you reside with:
Single parent
Nuclear
Extended
Sibling
7. Age range of parents
30-40
41-45
46-50
51-60
8. What is your social status?
Upper Class
Upper Middle Class
Middle Middle Class
Lower Middle Class
Lower Class
9. Are your grandparents alive?
Yes No
10. If yes, how much time is spent with them?
Reside with them
1-2 days per week
Weekly visits
Monthly visits
Biannual visits
Annual visits
Biennial visits
None of the above
11. On average how many hours are spent browsing the internet per week
Less than 10
10-20
20-30
30-40
40-50
50 and over
12. What activity do you usually conduct on the internet (tick all that apply)
Social networking
Research
Play games
Watch videos and movies
Other ____________________________
13. On average how many hours are spent watching cable each week?
Less than 10
10-20
30-40
40-50
50 and over
14. What type of programs do you usually watch?
Documentaries
Cartoons
Movies/TV shows
Reality shows
News
Other __________________________
15. On average, how many hours are spent watching local television shows each week?
16. Less than 10
17. 10-20
18. 30-40
40-50
19. 50 and over
16. Of the following shows please indicate any that you do watch
Joint Tenants Kingston House ER
Schools’ Challenge Quiz The Blackburns of Royal Palm Estate Talk up Youth
The Susan Show Profile ER2
17. Do you watch “Hill and Gully Ride”?
18. Yes No Sometimes What is that?
18. Do you watch “Lime Tree Lane”?
Yes No Sometimes What is that?
19. Do you know any Anansi stories?
20. Yes No What is that?
20. Are there any Cerasee, mint, ginger, fever grass, and sinklebible (aloe vera) plants present in
your home/yard?
21. Yes No What is that?
21. Does your family practice the tradition of making “bush teas” as an alternate remedy to
modern medicine?
Yes No What is that?
22. Do you know any traditions about pregnancy? If yes, please state.
23. Do you know any traditions about death or ‘duppies’? If yes, please state.
24. Do you know any traditions about funerals and ‘nine nights’ or wakes? If yes, please state.
25. Do you know any traditions about marriage? If yes, please state.
26. Do you know any other traditions? If yes, please state.
SECTION THREE
PRESENTATION
Sex of candidates
Male Female
57 73
Table 1. Table displaying ratio of male to female
Candidates with at least one available grandparent
Yes No
114 6
Table 3. Table displaying candidates with grandparent/s
Upper Class Upper Middle Class
Middle Middle Class
Lower Middle Class
Lower Class
5 70 30 20 5
Table 5. Table showing candidates' social status
Table 2. Table showing ratio of candidates' grades
Table 4. Table displaying parishes of residence of candidates
Grades of candidates
Grade 7 Grade 8 Grade 9
47 23 60
Parish of residence Number of persons
Kingston 22
St. Andrew 59
St Catherine 49
9%
24%
22%
37%
6%
2%
Age of candidates
11 years old12 years old13 years old14 years old15 years old16 years old
Figure 1. Pie chart displaying age distribution of candidates
98%
2%
Religious prefernces of candidates
Christianity None
Figure 2 Bar graph showing religious preferences of candidates
4% 4%
15%
4%
8%
4%
62%
Denomination of candidates
PentecostalChurch Or God7th Day Adventist Church of ChristRoman CatholicJehovah WitnessNot mentioned
Figure 3 Pie chart showing denominations of candidates
Single Parent51%
Nuclear29%
Extended20%
Family Types
Figure 4 Pie chart displaying the various family types of the different candidates
30-40
41-45
46-50
50 and over
2.5 7.5 12.5 17.5 22.5 27.5 32.5 37.5 42.5 47.530-40 41-45 46-50 50 and over
Number of persons 47 35 44 24
Age of candidates' parents
Figure 5. Bar graph displaying the ages of candidates’ parents
Reside Daily 1-2 days per week
Weekly Monthly Annually Biennially None
21
5 5
20
16
27
3
33
Average time spent with grandparentsNumber of persons
Figure 6. Column bar displaying average time spent with grandparents
Less than 10 hours
10-20 hours 20-30 hours 30-40 hours 40-50 hours More than 50 hours
Internet 8 43 4 47 5 23
Cable 55 46 2 18 0 9
Local Televi-son
111 9 0 5 0 5
10
30
50
70
90
110
Average time spent on internet, watching cable or local televisiong each week
Num
ber o
f can
dida
tes
Figure 7. Showing average amount of time on each activity each week
Hill and Gully
Lime Tree Lane
Anansi stories
Medicinal herbs
Bush tea' Preg-nancy
Death or 'duppies'
Nine nights
Marriage Others
Yes 8 0 115 96 77 62 58 73 10 13
No 80 57 15 32 53 68 72 57 120 117
Some-times
7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
What is that?
35 73 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0
1030507090
110130
Average knowlegde of Jamaican folklore and tradi-tions
Figure 8. Displaying categories of folklore and customs that candidates report being aware of
Joint Ten
ants
Schools'
Challen
ge Q
uiz
The B
lackb
urns o
f Roya
l Palm
Estat
e
Kingston House ER ER
2
Estrip
HitList
Talk
Up Youth
The S
usan Sh
owPro
file0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Local Television shows watched by can-didates
Number of viewers
Figure 9. Bar graph showing Jamaican television shows that candidates reported watching
ANALYSIS OF DATA
Throughout the course of this research the researcher was exposed to the many
categories of Jamaica’s rich folk culture. Extensive background was done to determine which of
the traditions the candidates put forward were Jamaican and which were not.
The data collected showed that females reported to having greater knowledge of
Jamaican folklore than males.
Grade seven students reported the lowest overall knowledge of Jamaican folklore and
customs, with grade 8 averaging a slightly higher figure, grade nine had the greatest average
awareness of Jamaican folk culture. This outcome was in accordance with expectations
because the older students would’ve had greater experience and in many cases, a wider
exposure to the culture.
All of the candidates interviewed reported living in the metropolitan area with 16.9% in
Kingston, 45.3% in St Andrew and the remaining 37.6% in St Catherine. 66 of the 130
candidates reported that they lived in a single parent household; 38 lived in a nuclear family
structure and the remaining 26 in an extended family type structure. Of the 130 candidates 44
reported living with a parent/s who were aged between 45 and 50, another 35 stated that they
lived with parents who were between 41 and 45, 40 candidates stated that their parents were
between 30 and 40 while the remaining 24 stated that their parents were between the ages of
51 and 60.
With technological advancements, folklore has become greatly associated with rural
areas. This means that those living in the urban areas are less likely to be exposed to the
traditions which have been passed down from generation to generation by their community
and the everyday happens that would occur. Of the candidates who participated in this study,
those living in nuclear households reported fewer truly Jamaican traditions when prompted
than those of single parent and extended family types.
The candidates from extended family types, on average, knew the most about Jamaican
folk culture while those from single parent families could only recall very few stories or
traditions and many of the ones they did were either American traditions or the combination of
a Jamaican tradition with an American. The data collected also shows very poor knowledge of
Jamaican folklore and customs by those candidates interviewed from nuclear family types.
Most admitted to having knowledge of the popular topics – Anansi stories, customs associated
with ‘duppies1’ and nine nights and 56.1% had no idea what ‘Lime Tree Lane’ meant. ‘Lime Tree
Lane’ is a soap opera of Jamaican origins which was usually shown on IDTV. The prevalence of
Anansi stories and ‘duppies’ is due to their general popularity but ‘Lime Tree Lane’ lost
popularity after it was removed from air. On average, candidates with parents between 30 and
40 years old knew more about Jamaican folklore and customs, this was followed by those with
parents between the ages of 46-50, then those with parents 50 years and older and finally
those with parents between 41 and 45.
Those candidates who reported having at least on grandparent alive recorded much
better figures than those who had none. Of those with grandparents, those who resided with
1 A ghost or apparition.
them had the highest recordings of knowledge of Jamaican folklore and customs, the exact
same figure was recorded for those who visited their grandparents weekly. Next were those
who saw their grandparents annually, then monthly, those who saw their grandparents none at
all, daily, biennially and finally 1-2 days per week.
Of the candidates interviewed, those who spent 10-20 hours per week on the internet
knew the least about Jamaican folklore and customs, closely followed by those who spent 30-40
hours per week on the internet. Those who spent 40-50 hours averaged next followed by tjose
who spent 20-30 hours on the internet per week. Those who spent at least 50 hours per week
on the internet had the second greatest figure. Those who accessed the internet for less than
10 hours per week knew the most about Jamaican folklore and customs. The average candidate
who watched less than 10 hours of cable television each week knew the most Jamaican folklore
and customs followed by those who watched 10-20 per week. Next were those who watched
20-30 hours per week, those who watch 30-40 hours per week and those who watch more than
50 hours per week. The group of candidates who watched between 40 and 50 hours of cable
television per week knew the least. Those candidates who reported spending less than10 hours
per week watching local television, on average, knew more about Jamaican folklore and
customs than those who reported spending more than 50 hours per week, those who spend 30-
40 hours per week and those that spend 10-20 hours.
Of the traditions the candidates were questioned about, Anansi stories were the most
widely known as all candidates could recall at least one story and 5 admitting that they had
heard them from their grandparents. The growing of medicinal herbs in one’s yard – whether
naturally of not – was the second most popular custom. 47.6% of candidates could recall at
least one custom related to pregnancy, 56.1% could recall at least one relates to ‘nine nights’
while 44.6% could recall traditions and customs related to death and ‘duppies’. The use of ‘bush
tea’ in the place of modern medicine is a custom that recorded fairly high figures with 73.8% of
candidates knowing about the tradition or having personal experiences with it. Only eight
candidate reported being an avid watcher of “Hill and Gully Ride” with seven saying they only
viewed the programs occasionally. All other traditions which were not a part of any of the
categories stated by the researcher but was still of significance was recorded under other, of
which only 13 candidates reported any knowledge.
DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
During the collection and analysis of data the researcher noted that there were certain
variables which made the data collected differed from expectations. Such variables included the
presence or lack thereof of grandparents, the availability of internet or cable television at home
as well as the type of families and the age group the candidates’ parents fell under. Each played
a vital role in the compilation and analysis of data. Those who spent more time watching local
television knew more about Jamaican folklore and customs mainly because the Jamaican
Government through the Jamaica Information Service (JIS) makes this information known and
though this information is available on the internet most candidates spent their time on social
networking sites, playing games, watching videos and movies and other such things instead of
taking an interest in the information available.
Anansi stories are most widely known because of their popularity. Books have been
published with Anansi stories and a most favorite pastime of children is to gather with friends
and trade stories of comedic value. Many of the herbs mentioned by the interviewer (Cerasee,
mint, ginger, fever grass, and sinklebible) are plants that can be found growing naturally all over
the island and its popularity may be as a result of such and not necessarily conscious
cultivation.
When questioned, many of the candidates could only recall two particular custom about
pregnancy – if a pregnant woman should yearn for a particular type of food while scratching her
body the baby will develop a birthmark in the shape of the food the mother yearn for, in the
exact same position she scratched as well as the belief that if a lizard was to jump on a woman
it would indicate pregnancy – very popular customs in recent years .
While most customs that candidates could recall about death or ‘duppies’ were
incorrect many were associated with one specific custom – when leaving a ‘nine night’ or wake
one should never announce his/her departure. He or she should simply touch the person he or
she is leaving with or they might be followed home and terrorized by the ‘duppy’. Many of
those who were correct described the same folklore custom while others spoke of the “Rolling
Calf”.
The use of bush teas to cure certain ailments is a practice that, in its time, was more
widely used than actual medicine. The practice was thought to be safer than anything a doctor
could prescribe and more often than not it was a free resource but the practice is being
associated with the rural areas and has not yet lost all its popularity with Jamaican families
living in the urban areas.
Candidates associated with older folk (parents over 50 years old or grandparents) have a
wider knowledge base about Jamaican folklore than those who have younger parents or spend
little or no time with grandparents.
Of all the candidates, one proposed the most difficult data to analyze. Candidate
number 3, an eleven year old male in grade from St Catherine was of a nuclear family structure
with parents between 41 and 45 and no grandparents. He reported spending more than 50
hours per week browsing the internet and less than 10 hours watching cable or local television
each week. He repoted having knowledge of only one folklore custom – Anansi stories – but
nevertheless provided a break in an otherwise expected trend (candidates who spent less than
ten hours watching cable television knew more about Jamaican folklore and customs)
The trends produced by the data collected are as follows, females knew more about
Jamaican folklore and traditions than males, grade 9 and grade 8 students knew more than
grade 7 students, candidates who lived in single parent household and those an extended
family structure knew more about Jamaican folklore and customs than any other family type,
candidates with parents over 50 years old knew more about Jamaican folklore and customs ,
candidates who had grandparents and spent a large amount of time with them greater records
of knowledge of Jamaican folklore and customs and candidates who spent less than ten hours
on the internet and 10 to 20 hours watching cable per week (except for the case of Candidate
#3) and more than ten hours watching local television had the greatest knowledge base.
Another trend produced was that those watching local television did not seem to affect the
candidates’ knowledge of Jamaican culture, a disappointing finding.
According to the figures collected, the general assumption about is that there are various
factors which affect the level of Americanization of students and variables to offset this to some
extent. The Jamaican media, as proven above, is also playing little part in educating students
about their rich cultural heritage in a way that appeals to them as many express disgust at the
mention of local television.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The researcher advises that measures be implemented in high schools to teach students to
respect and appreciate their own culture.A programme could be implemented to work
alongside the Personal Development Program and the Guidance and Counseling Departments
of every school to teach students about times of old as the preserve the rich folklore customs
that were developed over the years as well as books could also be published and made
available to schools whereby customs and traditions can be shared during a once per week
session and incentives given to those who have done research.
Conclusion