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MA/PhD Theses Abstracts of Current Students & Alumni |
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Stoffle, Brent (Ph.D), Globalization, modernization, and rotating savings and credit associations in the Caribbean, (Wolfe), 2002.
This dissertation is a documentation and analysis of the Barbadian Rotating Savings and Credit Association (ROSCA) known as Meeting Turn (MT). The purpose of the research is to determine the contemporary utility of MT and how changes in Barbadian society have impacted the structure and organization of the cultural association.
The research began in 1993 and continued in the urban areas or the south and west coasts during the summers of 1996 and 1997. In 1999, a four month field visit to a rural community on the east coast of Barbados provided the final portion of data. Methods used in each of the field visits included: formal surveys; formal interviews; informal interviews; group interviews; participant observation; and literature research. A total of 305 formal surveys/interviews and 92 informal interviews were conducted. The findings of the study indicate that MT continues to have utility in modem Barbadian culture, and serves as an important alternative to modem banking institutions. It does this by not only providing economic support in times of crises, but maintains a mechanism for providing social support as well. The data indicates that MT provides some the only mechanism for saving small amounts in order to be used for larger purchases and or debts. As for change in MT, as it is influenced by changes in Barbadian society, it appears that MTs have grown in terms of the amount of money saved in them, that they reach across class boundaries, and that they have become more inclusive of men in what is perceived to be a "woman t'ing".
The findings also provide the basis for critiquing and discussing theoretical issues that relate to development, modernization, Rational Choice theory, and the Theory of the Commons. The findings demonstrate that many of the assertions of Rational Choice theory are unfounded when considering behavior associated with MT. They also demonstrate that like a natural resource commons, a MT displays similar structure, organization and behavior.
Finally, the findings demonstrate that there is potential for applied utility ofMT principles in modem development, poverty alleviation programs and education.
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