Tag: Play

Book Review: ‘The Sports Gene’

Posted on April 10, 2014 in Industries, Social

Go Lean Commentary

Evolution AthleteSuccess is found at the intersection between talent and practice. Or so it seems…

These words are appropriate in reviewing the new book by David Epstein, The Sports Gene. He asserts that certain ethnicities have advantages for excelling in certain sports, but they must still put in the work to excel. These words are equally appropriate for assessing Caribbean life, prospects and cultures.

The forgoing news article in the Washington Times is a Review of the above-cited book; it takes a physiological, cultural and sociological look at the subject of sports and the athletes more inclined to excel at it. In fact the back cover photo features Jamaican Sprinter Usain Bolt, and the book prominently features an anecdote about Bahamian High Jumper Donald Thomas. So this author recognizes that Caribbean people are identified with excellence in sports; maybe even defined as geniuses[a].

The world recognizes that the Caribbean has gifted athletes, but unfortunately these participants must leave their beloved homeland to maximize their talents and earn a living from them. (Even to matriculate as student-athletes)

Book Review: By Robert VerBruggen – Special to the Washington Times, August 26, 2013

Subject: ‘The Sports Gene’ by David Epstein
Why are some people more athletic than others? Why is it that many sports are dominated by players of specific ethnicities?

These are questions that occur to many of us, sports fans and non-fans alike. Unfortunately, academia and the media have stubbornly refused to deal with them in an honest manner, keeping to simple, feel-good answers.

David Epstein’s “The Sports Gene” is a welcome exception. While the book’s title is unfortunate — no single gene could explain something so complex as athleticism — Mr. Epstein provides a careful and nuanced discussion of how nature, nurture and sports interact.

Mr. Epstein proves that genes exert a powerful influence on athleticism, and that ethnic physical differences can affect performance in many sports. Yet he does not shortchange the effects of practice and culture. This is a significant accomplishment.

There’s been much discussion in the popular press about the “10,000-hour rule” — the argument, formulated by journalist Malcolm Gladwell, that one masters a task not by having the right genes, but simply by practicing it for a total of 10,000 hours. This theory does not survive a close inspection by Mr. Epstein.

For starters, the drive needed to practice something for 10,000 hours might itself be genetic. For example, it’s possible to breed dogs and mice that have an insatiable desire to run, and twin studies suggest that genes contribute to the amount of physical activity that people get.

More to the point, the “rule” is based on flawed statistical reasoning. Yes, on average, a person who achieves elite status in a field does so after practicing for about 10,000 hours — but an average is not a rule for individuals to follow. Some people achieve elite status in as little as 3,000 hours, while others take more than twice the average. Every one of these studies has found an immense amount of variation.

Mr. Epstein illustrates this concept by comparing two high jumpers. Stefan Holm of Sweden has had a lifelong love of the sport, and through training, he very gradually improved his performance. Donald Thomas of the Bahamas, meanwhile, managed to clear a seven-foot bar on his first day. At the 2007 World Championships, just a year-and-a-half after his first high jump, Mr. Thomas beat Mr. Holm.

Mr. Epstein details many of the physical differences that give some athletes an advantage. Mr. Thomas benefited from unusually spring-like Achilles tendons. Basketball players are tall and have wide wingspans. Baseball players, who must look at a ball leaving a pitcher’s hand at 90 mph and instantly know whether and how to swing, have amazing vision. And so on.

None of this means that training doesn’t matter. For example, in addition to having great vision, baseball players must build an elaborate mental database of how different pitches look. They’re useless without this database. In one anecdote, Mr. Epstein tells of a professional softball pitcher who easily struck out some of Major League Baseball’s finest hitters. All the time they’d spent watching overhand fastballs had not prepared them for an underhand pitch.

What this does mean is that genetic qualities matter in sports. Which raises a question: Are some of these qualities more common in some ethnic groups than in others?

Much of academia swears that the phenomenon we refer to as “race” is merely a “social construct” with no biological significance whatsoever, but actual genetic research reveals otherwise: As humans spread out across the globe and encountered widely varying environment, each population evolved a little differently.

One difference that emerged is body structure. For example, the Kalenjin — a Kenyan ethnic group that is dramatically over represented in long-distance running accomplishments — tend to have thin lower legs, which is an advantage because weight there dramatically reduces running efficiency.

Further, in general, Africans of a given height have longer limbs than Europeans, and also have a higher center of mass. There are differences in average height among ethnic groups as well.

As with Mr. Epstein’s arguments regarding individual athletic achievement, his arguments about racial differences don’t imply that environment and culture are irrelevant. As Mr. Epstein notes, sometimes an ethnic group can dominate simply because they care about the sport more than their competitors — see the (now fading) pre-eminence of Japanese sumo wrestlers, or the stellar German record in dressage. The Kalenjin, in addition to their physical advantages, are raised in an environment where constant running is the norm.

That is what makes “The Sports Gene” such a worthy read: While the book’s purpose is to push back against the widespread denial that genes matter, Mr. Epstein avoids taking too strident a stance in the opposite direction. Human reality, he explains, isn’t the result of nature or nurture. It’s the result of both.

Washington Times Online –Book Review – Retrieved 04-09-2014 –http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/aug/26/book-review-the-sports-gene/#ixzz2yRDgikdC

Horseback ridingThis subject matter aligns with the publication Go Lean … Caribbean, which serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). The Go Lean roadmap only has one interest in this subject of sports, fostering the economic opportunities that can be forged from it[b].

This Go Lean roadmap first assesses that the Caribbean is in crisis; among the issues: athletes with any ability must seek refuge and opportunities in foreign lands. So this roadmap provides solutions to optimize the region’s economic, security and governing engines. The roadmap provides the facilitation to grow a professional, collegiate and amateur sports eco-system. Many times, the missing ingredients for organized sports are the facilities: stadia, arenas and playing fields. A study of this void, is bigger than just sports, it is “life and death”. But the roadmap posits that sports, even though it is just “extra-curricular”, does bring benefits. In fact, Go Lean quotes the Bible scripture at 1 Timothy 4:8 “For bodily exercise is profitable for a little …”[c]

The source book by David Epstein asserts that the rule that anyone can excel at any sport endeavor with 10,000 hours of practice and nurturing is a fallacy. Consider sports like Sumo wrestling and jockeying a horse; there’s no doubt that nature or physiology plays a role for success in these activities, despite the amount of practice. (There’s no way, a jockey will beat a Sumo Wrestler or vice-versa). But most importantly, the source book empathetically establishes that genes alone will never yield the sought-after result, there is the need for skilled training, coaching with best-practices and an internal drive. In so many ways, this parallels the current effort to reboot the Caribbean economic engines: nature (birth-right) is critical, but training, experience, coaching and the technocratic application of best-practices are also needed to forge change. The most important ingredient though is the internal drive; first and foremost, this is identified in the roadmap as “community ethos”.

The Go Lean roadmap recognizes many different kinds of athletics, team sports and individual events. The unique “genius” qualifier is highlighted at the outset of the Go Lean book, in the Declaration of Interdependence (Page 13 – 14), as follows:

xxi. Whereas the preparation of our labor force can foster opportunities and dictate economic progress for current and future generations, the Federation must ensure that educational and job training opportunities are fully optimized for all residents of all member-states, with no partiality towards any gender or ethnic group. The Federation must recognize and facilitate excellence in many different fields of endeavor, including sciences, languages, arts, music and sports. This responsibility should be executed without incurring the risks of further human flight, as has been the past history.

xxxi. Whereas sports have been a source of great pride for the Caribbean region, the economic returns from these ventures have not been evenly distributed as in other societies. The Federation must therefore facilitate the eco-systems and vertical industries of sports as a business, recreation, national pastime and even sports tourism – modeling the Olympics.

Similar to the publication by David Epstein, Go Lean … Caribbean highlights lessons that are learned from flawed ideologies, as in the case that education (abroad) elevates a society. (The Caribbean experience is that of a brain drain). While Epstein’s book prescribed strategies, tactics and implementation to optimize sport performance, Go Lean performs the same exercise for Caribbean economic empowerment.

Now is the time for the Caribbean region to lean-in for the changes described in the book Go Lean … Caribbean. Success is to be found at the intersection between opportunity and preparation.

The benefits of this roadmap are too alluring to ignore: emergence of an $800 Billion economy, 2.2. million new jobs, new industries, services and opportunities for the sports-playing youth of the Caribbean and even an invitation to the Diaspora (and their legacies) to repatriate from North American and European countries so as to preserve Caribbean culture in the Caribbean[d].

Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

—————–

Appendix – ‘Go Lean’ Book References

a. 10 Ways to Foster Genius – Page 27
b. Separations of Powers – Sports & Culture – Page 81
c. 10 Ways to Improve Sports – Page 229
d. 10 Ways to Preserve Caribbean Heritage – Page 218

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Bahamians Make Presence Felt In Libyan League

Posted on March 24, 2014 in Industries, Locations, Social

Go Lean Commentary

Basketball_HoopsThe news story in the following news article synchronizes with the book Go Lean … Caribbean in that it depicts the realities of how sports can impact the economics of a community.

Go Lean serves as a roadmap for the implementation of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), a technocratic federal government to administer and optimize the economic/security/ governing engines of the region’s 30 member-states. At the outset, the roadmap features these statements in the Declaration of Interdependence (Page 13 & 14):

xxi. Whereas the preparation of our labor force can foster opportunities and dictate economic progress for current and future generations, the Federation must ensure that educational and job training opportunities are fully optimized for all residents of all member-states, with no partiality towards any gender or ethnic group. The Federation must recognize and facilitate excellence in many different fields of endeavor, including sciences, languages, arts, music and sports. This responsibility should be executed without incurring the risks of further human flight, as has been the past history.

xxxi. Whereas sports have been a source of great pride for the Caribbean region, the economic returns from these ventures have not been evenly distributed as in other societies. The Federation must therefore facilitate the eco-systems and vertical industries of sports as a business, recreation, national pastime and even sports tourism – modeling the Olympics.

The actual news article was posted as follows:

By RENALDO DORSETT, Sports Reporter (rdorsett@tribunemedia.net)
You can find Bahamians playing basketball on just about every continent but it’s rare to find former high school teammates reunited on the same roster at the professional level.

In the Libyan D1 basketball league, Scottie Farrington and Tehran Cox are two of the top players with the Al Madina Tripoli club.

They are two of three Bahamians competing in the Libya-D1 league along with Torrington Cox who plays with Al Ahly Benghazi.

Farrington, a 6’8” forward and University of Louisiana Lafayette graduate, is currently averaging 21 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks per game while Cox, formerly of High Point University, is averaging a team high 24 points, six assists and four rebounds per game.

The duo first teamed up in 2002 to win the Government Secondary School Sports Association junior boys basketball championship at SC McPherson Junior High under coach Ulric Sands and Chevy Simmons.

They also represented The Bahamas together in 2005 at the Caribbean Basketball Championships in Trinidad and Tobago where they helped lead the Bahamas to an upset over regional powerhouse Puerto Rico en route to the gold medal.

Both players are in their first season with Madina. However, Farrington has previously played in Saudi Arabia, Dubai and Thailand, while Cox, in his first professional stint, began the year in Kuwait.

Farrington said having a familiar face in the starting lineup far away from home has been a benefit both on and off the court, particularly since the country continues to rebuild following the 2011 revolution which ousted Muammar al-Gaddafi.

“It’s an experience of a lifetime. Especially being here with these people who are trying to rebuild

their country after the revolution. Playing here with Tehran and knowing makes this a more comfortable situation,” he said. “We talked about it because we have the same agent but we didn’t think it was going to actually happen.”

The club is currently ranked fifth in the East Group at 3-5, however their individual play has already garnered opportunities for the next possible step in their professional careers.

“I wouldn’t say it’s the best fit but the competition here is better than I expected. A few guys here have played or attended training camp for NBA teams so that means a lot to compete against these guys,” Farrington said. “This is just our first season here with Madina. We signed here in November and after our performance here we have already been contacted by clubs in Spain and in Serbia for next season, but we will save that for later and focus on finishing off this season strong.”

Farrington played under Godfrey McQuay with the St Anne’s Blue Waves before completing his high school career at the Christian Life Centre in Houston, Texas.

He spent his freshman year at Rogers State and his sophomore year at Odessa before he played at the NCAA D1 level with Louisiana Lafayette.

In his senior year at Louisiana, he also teammed with Bahamians Kentwan Smith and Kadeem Coleby.

Cox, a 6’1” point guard, was dominant in the backcourt for the CI Gibson Rattlers before he finished his high school career at Fayetteville Christian School in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

He spent two seasons at Arkansas Fort-Smith before he transferred to High Point for his junior and senior seasons.

Cox has helped Al Ahly Benghazi to second place in the West Group at 5-2, on a roster that also features former Boston Celtics draft pick Orien Greene.

Torrington Cox, a 6’7” forward, is in his seventh professional season and is currently averaging 25 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks per game. He previously played in Mexico, Chile, Saudi Arabia , Egypt, Kuwait, Dubai and was also selected by the Utah Flash in the 2008 NBA D-League draft.

Source:  The Tribune – Bahamas Daily Newspaper Online Site (Retrieved 03/04/2014) –http://www.tribune242.com/news/2014/mar/03/bahamians-make-presence-felt-in-libyan-league/

The Go Lean roadmap posits that genius qualifiers are found through out Caribbean society, and that this may be identified with excellence in sports. With the proper market organizations, sporting events can be lucrative for a community and participants. But that market organization does not currently exist in the Caribbean. An objective of this roadmap is to develop the organized markets.

This objective aligns with the CU’s prime directives to elevate the region’s economy, create future prospects for the Caribbean’s youth and invite the far-flung Diaspora to return to their island homelands. Consider the experiences of the 3 Bahamian athletes in Libya (a country in the North Africa’s Sahara desert region), would they rather be in Libya or the Bahamas, or any other Caribbean destination? The tagline in the Go Lean book is that the Caribbean is the world’s greatest address; there are not too many claims of Libya competing for that title.

Now is the time for all of the Caribbean to forge permanent change by implementing the Five Year roadmap advocated in Go Lean … Caribbean. The benefits of this plan as it relates to sports is the optimization of local opportunities at all levels, youth all-stars & regional tournaments, an intercollegiate eco-system and professional leagues. The CU will facilitate the applicable venues (stadia, arenas, fields, temporary structures and broadcast/streaming capabilities). The roadmap calls for the creation of 2,000 new direct jobs within the region.

Now finally, with the Go Lean implementations, the Caribbean can become a better place for all citizens to live, work and play.

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Collegiate Sports in the Caribbean

Posted on March 24, 2014 in Industries, Locations, Social, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

CampionExcelsiorK20120911IASports play a big role in Caribbean culture. Education plays a big role in the empowerment of communities. There is a junction between sports and academics; this is the sphere of college athletics.

Cuba has 37 universities…alone. In total, the Caribbean has 42 million people (2010 figures) in all 30 member-states. So surely there is enough of a student population to field sports teams.

More so, there is a fan base in the communities to complete the eco-system of sports spectators and community pride. Yet, there is very little college sports being facilitated in the region right now. Despite the breadth and talent base to form leagues and rivalries among the established universities within the Caribbean. Any system for college athletics is noticeably lacking.

This is the mission of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU); to function as a Caribbean version of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the US. We have much to learn from this organization’s history, successes & failures.

“The NCAA was founded in 1906 to protect young people from the dangerous and exploitive athletics practices of the time,” so states the NCAA on its official website.[a]

According to Dan Treadway, Associate Blog Editor for the Huffington Post online news magazine[b]:

The NCAA often likes to harp on tradition and the sanctity of the term “student-athlete,” but it fails to recognize its true roots.

The association in fact got its start because, at the time of its creation, football was in danger of being abolished as a result of being deemed too dangerous a sport. During the 1905 season alone, 18 college and amateur players died during games. In response to public outcry, Theodore Roosevelt, an unabashed fan of the sport, gathered 13 football representatives at the White House for two meetings at which those in attendance agreed on reforms to improve safety. What would later become known as the NCAA was formed shortly after on the heels of this unifying safety agreement.

Collegiate Sports is now big money; an economic eco-system onto itself. How much money does the NCAA make?

For the 2010-11 fiscal year, the NCAA revenue was $845.9 million, (not including College Football). Total rights (broadcast & licensing) payment for 2010-11 was $687 million, of all NCAA revenue. The remaining revenues are mostly event ticket sales.

How did the NCAA go from being an agreement to promote safety standards so as to prevent death on the playing field, to a multi-million dollar enterprise? Chalk that up to 100 years of social evolution.

The book Go Lean … Caribbean serves as a roadmap to advance to the end of the evolutionary process and establish the economic engines to empower the Caribbean region, even in areas like sports and culture.

So how to build sports franchises anew? How will colleges & universities create success from collegiate athletics? It’s a complex “art and science”, but first, it starts with facilities – the CU’s Fairground administration will fund, build and manage sports venues. The CU will be the landlord; the academic institutions, the tenants.

The Go Lean roadmap navigates the changed landscape of globalization and pronounces that change has come to the Caribbean but the region is not prepared. Despite the great appreciation for sports, and the excellent talent of its athletes, there is no business model for the consumption of Caribbean collegiate athletics.

Now, for much of the Caribbean, the population tunes in and pays for cable/satellite TV service to consume American collegiate athletic programming. But how many people in the region are watching Caribbean college sporting activities? None. Though there is a demand, undoubtedly, there is no supply process in place.

In the adjoining table in the Appendix, 36 schools are identified that are capable of fielding credible sports teams, if the appropriate facilitations were in place.

There is the demand. What’s missing is the organized market for consumption. The implementation of this Go Lean roadmap fills this void. This completes the supply!

Applying the model of the NCAA, much can be learned. We can copy their success, and learn from their pitfalls. The NCAA credits tremendous revenues for itself, but not necessarily for all of their members. Under NCAA supervision, the majority of athletic programs, in fact, lose money and are subsidized by funds from their respective university. While the NCAA is needed for academic integrity in college sports, many times, it fails at this responsibility. They lack the CU’s lean execution ethos.

After 100 years later, does the world still need the NCAA? Absolutely! For more than the collective bargaining/negotiations role for the business side of college athletics. They are also the governing body for college athletics, ensuring fairness and good sportsmanship. For the Caribbean Union, this role is to be assumed by the CU Sports Administration, to provide technocratic efficiencies. The resultant eco-system facilitates the CU mandate, to make the region a better place to live, work and play.

Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

———————-

APPENDIX A – References:
a – http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/public/NCAA/About+the+NCAA/History
b – http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ daniel-treadway/johnny-manziel-ncaa-eligibility_b_3020985.html

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APPENDIX B – Caribbean Regional Colleges & Universities

Member-state

Legacy

Name
Antigua and Barbuda

British

 Antigua State College
Aruba

Dutch

 University of Aruba
Bahamas

British

 College of the Bahamas
Barbados

British

 University of the West Indies – Cave Hill, American University
Belize

British

 University of Belize
Galen University
Bermuda

British

 Bermuda College (Community College)
Cuba

Spanish

 University of Havana Universidad de Oriente, Polytechnic University José Antonio Echeverría
Dominican Republic

Spanish

 Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (UASD) – (English: Autonomous University of Santo Domingo)
French Caribbean

French

 University of the French West Indies and Guiana Guadeloupe Campus, Martinique Campus, French Guiana Campus
Guyana

British

 University of Guyana
Haiti

French

 Caribbean University / Université Caraïbe, Université d’Haiti
Jamaica

British

 University of the West Indies – Mona, University of Technology (U-Tech), Mico University College, Northern Caribbean University (NCU), University College of the Caribbean (UCC), International University of the Caribbean (IUC)
Netherlands Antilles

Dutch

 University of Curaçao
Curaçao
Sint Maarten University of St. Martin
Puerto Rico

USA/

Spanish

 Caribbean University, Metropolitan University, University of Puerto Rico, University of Turabo
Suriname

Dutch

 University of Suriname Anton de Kom Universiteit van Suriname
Trinidad and Tobago

British

 University of the West Indies – Saint Augustine University of Southern Caribbean (USC) University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT)
US Virgin Islands

USA

 University of the Virgin Islands

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Print is not dead yet

Posted on March 21, 2014 in Implementation, Industries

Go Lean Commentary

high-volume-offset-printing-presses-40462-6118919

… well actually, one person’s opinion:

Print is not dead… yet? I almost didn’t notice!

If print is not dead yet, does that mean it is going to put up a fight? Will it make a comeback? I say “No”. It is just a matter of time. Print might experience only a slow death, but die … it will.

This is just an opinion of an Caribbean Diaspora member living in the US, who rarely buys newspapers and magazines only occasionally. But this does not mean that I’m ignorant of the news or the latest going-ons. I am completely up-to-date. Obviously I rely more on the electronic media for information, and entertainment.

The reference to electronic media does not only mean TV or radio. Rather the internet. A lot of consumers still read, just not in print, they now use internet websites, e-Readers, blogs and email. Even the radio and TV media is finding competition because of the internet. In the TV industries, more people are abandoning cable contracts for subscriptions services like Netflix and Hulu; they are still able to enjoy their favorite programming, just delivered by alternate means. For radio, the audience is shrinking due to the proliferation of mobile music options like Pandora, Rhapsody, Jango, Slacker, Roxio, etc.

The rate of change is fast!

I just started using the internet, email and Facebook two years ago. I’m obviously a late bloomer. During this time, I have not utilized any postal mail to connect with my Caribbean family. Instead of the weeks it took for a letter to arrive; I now connect in seconds.

I am not the only one. – SFE Foundation Stakeholder Leonora Hall. 

Truly, you are “not the only one“! Change has come…to America and other countries. According to the American Library Association, in a 2008 report  it stated that:

68% of Americans carry a library card, but they rarely use them to borrow books (print), but rather to use audio books, podcasts, digital references, and to consume computer time. They reported that since 2006 they have seen increases in internet usage (68%) for using email, chat, and IM; e-Books (52%); video (49%) and online instruction courses 43%). – (http://www.marketingvox.com/online-offerings-rise-at-us-libraries-68-of-americans-have-library-cards-041431/)

As stated in the below article, there is still a lot of upside to print, compared to electronic alternatives. A paper book is still a better experience compared to an e-Reader. But truth be told, there are no Research & Development (R&D) trying to make paper books better, but plenty of R&D activity for e-Readers. The article relates:

Title: Print is Not Dead Yet
By: Chandi Perera, CEO, Typéfi*

One of the earliest citations of the phrase “print is dead” comes from the 1984 movie Ghostbusters, but almost 30 years later, print is certainly not dead. Print publishing still drives on average 80% of revenues and close to 100% of the profits for general trade publishers. But among reference and science, technical and medical (STM) publishers, digital publishing was embraced quickly and openly at the expense of print.

Commercial digital products from large reference publishers started in the 1980s, and PDF was adopted as the preferred format for STM publishing in the 1990s. Digital-only publications were well-accepted by the turn of this century, and the PDF still holds unquestioned dominance. Digital production and distribution addressed a number of such publishers’ pain points, but print still maintains advantages for large trade publishers.

Take information that is published regularly, as in journals, or that must be kept up to date, like encyclopedias. Such information needs to be disseminated as quickly as possible. Print publications necessarily take longer to be produced and delivered than digital equivalents. But fiction titles, such as the Harry Potter series or The Da Vinci Code, have no information currency or updating requirements. Print still works for these books.

What about physical production and distribution costs? A typical reference or STM publisher could save tens to hundreds of dollars per unit by eliminating printing and mailing costs. For weekly journals this would be as high as $50-$100 per subscriber. The incentive to save on such costs is quite significant for publications containing information that is only valid for a limited time. However, large efficient trade publishers spend less than $2 to print and distribute a typical trade fiction book. Not much cost incentive for change there.

Or look at digital formats. STM publishers often use the same PDF file for both print and digital distribution. Trade digital delivery channels do not generally use PDF files, so a trade publisher needs to create an e-book file in addition to the print file. Complicating matters further, there are over 30 different popular device types, apps or file formats in use in the global publishing market. A publisher can achieve a basic level of compliance from creating one EPUB file and converting to other formats. But to take advantage of e-book device features for an exceptional reading experience, a publisher must invest in creating a dedicated file optimized for each device. The costs of doing this are substantial and in many cases are levels of magnitude above the print production cost.

Accessibility is one of the biggest advantages… of digital publishing from an STM reader’s perspective. With the rise of networked computers and the internet, readers no longer had to go to the library to access a publication. By the late 1980s most professional scientists had a networked desktop computer to access STM publications–usually for free as their institutional library would hold the subscription.

Accessibility is also a major advantage for digital trade publications. No longer will airline passengers have to settle for what the airport bookshop is selling before boarding the flight. They can purchase and download from online catalogs. However, unlike PDFs on desktops, the devices used to access this content are not ubiquitous, cheap (for the reader) or interchangeable.

In today’s e-book market, content purchased from some channels is only readable in devices linked in those channels. It is difficult for all but the most technically savvy to transfer a large iBooks collection to a Kindle or Samsung Galaxy device, and vice versa.

On the other hand, PDF provides a dependable rendering format for scholarly publications, regardless of technology upgrades and platform changes. The PDF user experience for reference and STM publications is no worse than the print product experience. Users could still do all they did with the traditional print product, with some added advantages , and none of the disadvantages (even on-screen reading, as many readers still print out the PDF for reading on paper).

But in trade publishing, the user experience of e-books is very different from print and varies from device to device; in almost all cases devices are more complex to use than a simple book. Even on popular devices like the Kindle, navigating through a book is cumbersome, unlike “flicking” back and forth. Even with perceived benefits like resizable text and backlit displays, it takes significantly more effort to use an e-book reader than a book.

Until there is more standardization of format, portability of libraries, and the reading experience is as good as, or better than, a physical book across devices, and until the cost and revenue equation makes sense for the publisher, print will have a long life yet in trade publishing. Nevertheless, there are many ventures seeking these outcomes, and technologies being developed to deliver them. Overall, digital publishing has a bright future.
Source: *Typéfi produces automated composition solutions for print and web. Visit http://www.Typéfi.com.
See http://www.oecd.org/internet/ieconomy/

CU Blog - Print is Dead - Photo 2

This commentary therefore concurs with the article’s conclusion: Overall, digital publishing has a bright future.

Are these future prospects true for the Caribbean as well? The book Go Lean…Caribbean serves as a roadmap to elevate the Caribbean economic, security and governance engines. The book asserts that the “world is flat” and the globalization has taken its toll on Caribbean consumerism. This indicates that we must plan for more and more electronic consumption of news and information. But with electronic delivery come the need for electronic payment systems, and thus the Go Lean roadmap is to establish the complete eco-system so that all of the Caribbean can more easily consume electronic media content legitimately. The roadmap also calls for the deployment of more libraries into the communities so as to facilitate the need for internet connectivity.

Lastly, the Go Lean roadmap posits that as a region, we cannot only expect to consume, but that we must create/compose as well. The end result of this roadmap is a complete eco-system to foster a viable media industry.

We can do this. We must do this!

Download the Book Go Lean … Caribbean – Now!!!

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Could the Caribbean Host the Olympic Games?

Posted on March 12, 2014 in Ethos, Locations, Planning, Social, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

Freedom of speech is great for the flow of information in a democracy. But freedom of speech has its limits, notwithstanding libel, slander and defamation possibilities. If a person yells out “FIRE, FIRE” in a crowded theater, knowing that there is no fire, the resultant panic and crush of people fleeing for the exits is actually criminally liable. In some jurisdiction, if death results, the culprit can be charged with statues against “depraved indifference”. Wow, that could be serious!

On the other hand, there is the practice of dreaming and acting on dreams. Some of the biggest accomplishments in world history, started as someone’s dreams. Once actuated, one step after another led to the eventual fulfillment of the dream.

See this article here from Caribbean Journal Online News Site; retrieved 02/12/2014 from http://www.caribjournal.com/2014/02/13/caribbean-idea-could-the-caribbean-host-the-olympic-games/:

thumbWhile the Caribbean has become relatively accustomed to dominating at the Summer Olympics, this year’s crop of Caribbean winter athletes has us thinking. With all of the Caribbean’s continued success in international athletics, why couldn’t the region (or one of the countries in the region host the Summer Olympics? 

The Olympics has been held in the US, Asia, Australia, Europe and (soon) South America, but never in the Caribbean.  So we looked around the region to think about which countries could, at least hypothetically host the Games. The Games must be based in a single city; given much of the region’s size, the Games would likely need to be held across an entire island, though perhaps nominally based in a city.  

A potential Caribbean host country would also need several major qualities: a large enough territory to host the myriad events held in the Summer Games; a high enough level of infrastructural development; a big enough airport and a hotel stock large enough that it could expand without too much difficulty to meet the needs of the Games. We isolated several Caribbean islands: Jamaica, Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic), Trinidad and Tobago, Guadeloupe, Puerto Rico.

Jamaica is large enough and its hotel stock is big enough, but its infrastructural development would need work; given Jamaica’s brand equity around the world (and its athletic dominance), this could be a natural choice, with Montego Bay being the best fit for a single city given its topography. Hispaniola would be the most provocative choice: could two neighbors that often have a stormy relationship bridge their divides and come together for international sport? Lack of infrastructure, particularly on the Haitian side, would be an issue, but adding that infrastructure would also enormously benefit the western half of the island.

Could the Games be held in Port-au-Prince and Santo Domingo together? Trinidad and Tobago has the infrastructural development, the territorial size, and the airport, but a small hotel stock. Could Port of Spain host the Games with many events held in Tobago? A system of fast ferries and increased flights would make for an entertaining twin-island Olympics.

 Guadeloupe would be a bit of a wild card; its roads and infrastructural development far outpace much of the region; it has enough undeveloped land and a relatively large size. Could the Games spread across each of the islands of the archipelago? Puerto Rico is large, with developed infrastructure, and it’s part of the United States, with a relatively robust hotel stock and strong existing sports infrastructure. Of course, its debt problems would pose a significant hindrance to hosting the Games in the next few decades.

Cuba is another option, although the continued embargo from the United States would likely be a significant stumbling block. Otherwise, the island has the size, infrastructure and level of development to be considered. There’s another option — what about a regionally-hosted Olympics? Would the IOC ever support something like that? Would the Caribbean grant temporary approval for foreign airlines to operate regional service? Would a fast-ferry company seize on the opportunity?

If the region could source the majority of the funding from sponsorship’s and other external sources, the benefits of new hotels, infrastructure, investment and prestige could be significant. But the Caribbean would need to ensure that the foreign money was enough that it didn’t put it any further into already-crippling debt. Ultimately, the question is this: instead of spending billions on developed countries hosting the Games, why not spend the same money for an Olympic Games that actually leads to development?

Imagine a Trinidad or a Jamaica or a Hispaniola with fresh, modern hotels, large stadia and, crucially, sparkling new roads (not to mention the vast tourism marketing potential of hosting the Games). Of course, there’s another major issue: the weather. Summer in the Caribbean means the risk of hurricanes. But with major storms popping up across the globe, is the Caribbean really alone in that risk anymore? And couldn’t Olympic development be done at a hurricane-proof standard?

What do you think? Could the Caribbean ever host an Olympic Games?

The Caribbean hosting the Olympics is just dreaming, not reporting. Most men and women standing on the podium receiving their winning medals can trace their origins back to some dream. A dream for the athlete, coach and/or parent. Sometimes, too the whole community is dreaming. Is the thought of the Caribbean hosting the Olympics some day just a dream now in 2014 or can the “dominoes” be put in place that once actuated can lead to an eventual successful bid to host some future Olympiad?

Tipping the “dominoes” to enable a better business environment is the mission of the Go Lean … Caribbean roadmap. This even applies to sports. The books purports that sports can be a great economic driver for the region, and that the business model of the Olympics can be forged in the region on a minor scale. In fact the book proposes the CU Games as a bi-annual event that encompasses many Olympic-style events, more than just Track & Field. This approach would bring the necessary regional integration necessary to develop any long time plans for a big dream of the Olympics. (But the recommendation here is to NEVER host one).

This commentary declares that the merits of the foregoing article is pure rubbish. No one Caribbean country possesses the population base and economic engine to make an Olympic bid viable. While comparisons can be made for Greece, the host country for the 2004 Summer Olympics, this example is a better argument for opposition of any Olympic hosting. Greece experienced much financial distress as a result of their Olympic hosting; the country was near insolvency during the European Sovereign Debt crisis of 2009 – 2012, if not for the bail-outs of the European Union.

To the contrary, the entire Caribbean region tallies 42 million people and the results of economic integration can yield a GDP of $800 Billion (2010). Greece on the other hand had a population count of 10.8 million and GDP of $250 for the same period.

Lastly, the Go Lean roadmap calls for the emergence of the Caribbean dollar unified currency. This structure would spur the elevation of the region’s capital markets (9) for stocks and bonds. This approach would satisfy the liquidity needs to finance the construction of any and all sporting facilities required for sporting events.

Download the free e-Book of Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

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