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Summary: Objectives: Leptospirosis is a serious neglected disease in the Pacific. Because sensitive and specific laboratory tests are largely unavailable, the burden of disease and epidemiological data are often unreliable and do not allow informed disease prioritization and efficient control. We report the use of serum spotted on filter paper to improve the surveillance of leptospirosis in remote and resource-limited settings. Methods: A total of 172 acute-phase serum samples collected from patients with suspected dengue at Yap State Hospital, Federated States of Micronesia, were spotted on filter paper and sent by regular mail to the Institut Louis Malardé, French Polynesia. Real-time PCR protocols for dengue and leptospirosis confirmation were performed on all specimens. Results: A total of five leptospirosis infections were detected amongst the patients with suspected dengue. Conclusions: This study confirms the use of filter paper as a convenient tool to improve leptospirosis surveillance capacity in remote areas. New surveillance strategies, notably based on the regular use of this type of tool, are essential to more adequately describe the epidemiology and burden of neglected diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Critique surrounding climate finance is mounting against a backdrop of an escalating ecological crisis manifesting unequally across the globe. This paper uses learnings from racial capitalism to unpack the modalities of climate finance, using the Pacific region as an illustrative case. It argues that racial capitalism is enacted through modalities of climate finance, in part, by the erection of walls. One type of wall enacted by climate finance is epistemic: its definitions place it as the inherent object of Northern interventions. Moreover, financial walls are maintained through debt in climate finance, creating borders of deprivation through ongoing practices of indebting already burdened regions. The paper also highlights the way borders can manifest through regulation, in particular, through climate funds delineating arduous benchmarks of already burdened states. These walls contribute to the racialized process of creating 'sacrifice zones': places that have borne the cost of benefits accrued elsewhere, left without in a state of depletion. The paper explores the material futures that are being enacted by these modalities of climate finance through the case of climate migration. Yet these dystopian futures must not be taken for granted, rather, the walls which separate climate affected communities from hopeful futures must be dismantled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: In Pacific Island Countries (PICs) the epidemiology of dengue is characterized by long-term transmission of a single dengue virus (DENV) serotype. The emergence of a new serotype in one island country often indicates major outbreaks with this serotype will follow in other PICs. Objectives: Filter paper (FP) cards on which whole blood or serum from dengue suspected patients had been dried was evaluated as a method for transportation of this material by standard mail delivery throughout the Pacific. Study design: Twenty-two FP-dried whole blood samples collected from patients in New Caledonia and Wallis & Futuna Islands, during DENV-1 and DENV-4 transmission, and 76 FP-dried sera collected from patients in Yap State, Majuro (Republic of Marshall Islands), Tonga and Fiji, before and during outbreaks of DENV-2 in Yap State and DENV-4 in Majuro, were tested for the presence of DENV RNA, by serotype specific RT-PCR, at the Institut Louis Malardé in French Polynesia. Results: The serotype of DENV could be determined, by a variety of RT-PCR procedures, in the FP-dried samples after more than three weeks of transport at ambient temperatures. In most cases, the sequencing of the envelope gene to genotype the viruses also was possible. Conclusions: The serotype and genotype of DENV can be determined from FP-dried serum or whole blood samples transported over thousands of kilometers at ambient, tropical, temperatures. This simple and low-cost approach to virus identification should be evaluated in isolated and resource poor settings for surveillance for a range of significant viral diseases. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper discusses Dorothy Felice Crozier's survey of social services of Tonga, focused on the village of Ha'afeva in Ha'apai. She became the first professional archivist in the South Pacific and edited a definite, though unpublished, edition of the archive "Mariner's Tonga." Though Crozier never published her work, she bequeathed her papers to the Mitchell Library for their survival and eventual accessibility. The papers of Dorothy Crozier are a fine example of the value of preserving the personal papers of Pacific scholars. She was among the groundbreaking generation of post-War Pacific scholars.

Efficiency gains due to migration to lower-cost retail payment instruments could entail significant benefits to economic development and financial inclusion. This paper uses Tonga as a case study in order to examine savings that could be achieved in three main areas of payment systems reforms in the process of transitioning from paper-based to electronic payment instruments: remittances, government payments, and overall payments infrastructure and interoperability. Assuming an upfront cost and constant annual savings due to reforms, the paper projects an initial fixed cost of modernising the payments infrastructure of 0.5 per cent of the current GDP, and net savings of up to 3.2 per cent of the current GDP in ten years for Tonga. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2021, Sāmoa witnessed its first change of government since the 1980s. The April election result entailed a narrow defeat for the governing Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP). This triggered a major constitutional crisis and a succession of legal battles over the 10 per cent quota for women in parliament and over the powers of the head of state, who had attempted to cancel the election. This paper examines the election outcome, how this was influenced by changing electoral laws, and why the newly formed Fa'atuatua I Le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party was able to mount such a strong challenge to the HRPP. The paper argues that the central issue during the campaign – the HRPP's reforms to reconfigure the Land and Titles Court – was not (as widely depicted) a dispute over 'communal' versus 'individual rights' but rather one over two conflicting visions of centralized control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alan Ward (1935–2014) delivered his inaugural professorial address at the University of Newcastle, New South Wales, on 23 March 1988. Following his 1987 promotion to Professor, a position he held until his retirement in 1996, the lecture marked a milestone in his career, which to that point had included not only his influential study, A Show of Justice: Racial 'Amalgamation' in Nineteenth Century New Zealand (1974), but also important work on land reform in Papua New Guinea, the New Hebrides/Vanuatu, and New Caledonia. Some 35 years after its delivery and ten years after Ward's death, the Journal of Pacific History now publishes the lecture (as retrieved from his papers and transcribed by his daughter, Ingrid Ward) in its entirety. This introduction highlights key themes from the lecture in the context of Ward's career and subsequent publications that expanded on the issues raised in the speech. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses articles in the issue on topics including policing in Pacific Island countries and territories, public perceptions of (state) police in Fiji, and the findings of a survey of community perceptions of policing undertaken on Guam.

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various topics within the issue including heritage studies in the Pacific region, heritage discourse, and cultural festivals of the Island nations.

For several years, sport-for-development (SFD) programs have been implemented around the world to make a positive difference for disadvantaged or underprivileged communities. Within this context, special events have been used to complement regular development activities to celebrate social, cultural, and sporting achievements. To date, little managerial work has been conducted on the specific contributions that special events can play in the context of ongoing SFD endeavors. In addressing this issue, this paper presents findings from an empirical investigation of a participatory SFD event in the Pacific Islands. Findings suggest that special events can create new interest and excitement for SFD activities, reengage stakeholders to the wider SFD program, leverage partnerships, and provide opportunities to build and shape local management capacity. In discussing these findings, the paper highlights potential positive and negative impacts of special SFD events and provides practical and theoretical implications for SFD program design, management, and leverage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: As in many areas of the developing world, intensification of agriculture in Tonga, and other Pacific Islands, has put increased pressure on the soil resource. Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of mulch on the growth and yield of two important food and fibre crops. The first was conducted on sloping land to evaluate the effect of guinea grass (Megathyrsus maximus) mulch and hedgerows on taro [Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott] yield, and in controlling soil erosion. The second compared the response of paper mulberry [Broussonetia papyrifera (L) Ventenot] to different management regimes of a grass fallow. Thick vegetative mulch increased taro corm yield by 81% and reduced soil loss by 50% compared to local farmer practice, and the soil loss from taro with mulch was comparable to the perennial cash hedgerow treatment. Mulch increased paper mulberry bark yield by 30% compared to the non‐mulch control. Comparative economic analysis showed that increased net profit in the mulched treatments compared to the non‐mulched control was T$2660/ha for taro and T$12 108/ha for paper mulberry. Considering that mulch is readily available to many farmers throughout the Pacific Islands and elsewhere in the tropics, it is recommended as a sustainable practice for crop production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The canopy height of forests is a key variable which can be obtained using air- or spaceborne remote sensing techniques such as radar interferometry or lidar. If new allometric relationships between canopy height and the biomass stored in the vegetation can be established this would offer the possibility for a global monitoring of the above-ground carbon content on land. In the absence of adequate field data we use simulation results of a tropical rain forest growth model to propose what degree of information might be generated from canopy height and thus to enable ground-truthing of potential future satellite observations. We here analyse the correlation between canopy height in a tropical rain forest with other structural characteristics, such as above-ground biomass (AGB) (and thus carbon content of vegetation) and leaf area index (LAI). The process-based forest growth model FORMIND2.0 was applied to simulate (a) undisturbed forest growth and (b) a wide range of possible disturbance regimes typically for local tree logging conditions for a tropical rain forest site on Borneo (Sabah, Malaysia) in South-East Asia. It is found that for undisturbed forest and a variety of disturbed forests situations AGB can be expressed as a power-law function of canopy height h (AGB=a.hb) with an r2~60% for a spatial resolution of 20m×20m (0.04 ha, also called plot size). The regression is becoming significant better for the hectare wide analysis of the disturbed forest sites (r2=91%). There seems to exist no functional dependency between LAI and canopy height, but there is also a linear correlation (r2∼60%) between AGB and the area fraction in which the canopy is highly disturbed. A reasonable agreement of our results with observations is obtained from a comparison of the simulations with permanent sampling plot data from the same region and with the large-scale forest inventory in Lambir. We conclude that the spaceborne remote sensing techniques have the potential to quantify the carbon contained in the vegetation, although this calculation contains due to the heterogeneity of the forest landscape structural uncertainties which restrict future applications to spatial averages of about one hectare in size. The uncertainties in AGB for a given canopy height are here 20-40% (95% confidence level) corresponding to a standard deviation of less than ±10%. This uncertainty on the 1 ha-scale is much smaller than in the analysis of 0.04 ha-scale data. At this small scale (0.04 ha) AGB can only be calculated out of canopy height with an uncertainty which is at least of the magnitude of the signal itself due to the natural spatial heterogeneity of these forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In commenting on the papers in this special issue, I begin by discussing the need for anthropologists of the western Pacific to study ways individualism is emerging in the region and to attend in doing so to major Western theories of individualism. I then discuss the features of Macpherson's model of possessive individualism that make it particularly useful for anthropological work. Turning to the papers included here, I consider how they have taken up, challenged and extended Macpherson's ideas by putting them to work in understanding societies that engage the market to a greater or lesser extent but do not draw on it for their dominant models of social life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a forward-looking case of climate change induced displacement in the Pacific Islands as a multidimensional phenomenon with a moral dimension. Instead of seeking to provide a definitive solution to an imagined problem, the authors have identified the complexity of the situation through an exploration of the accounts of place and accountability for the consequences of displacement.Design/methodology/approach The paper explores displacement from a sociological perspective. The authors use the sociology of worth (SOW) to anchor explicit and competing moral claims in an evaluation regime that considers questions of justice and the common good. The public accounts of place in the Pacific Islands provide the empirical material for a consideration of a situated crisis. While SOW is generally adopted for current crises or disputes, this study explores the pre-immigrant story and a future case of displacement. Bauman’s (1998, 2012) perspective on globalization is used to narrate the local conditions of place in a global context as reflective of a dominant social order.Findings Since place is a multidimensional concept and experienced according to various states of being including physical, functional, spiritual and emotion or feeling, displacement is also felt at a multidimensional level. Thus to provide an account of a lived experience and to foster a moral accountability for climate induced displacement requires a consideration of multiple accounts and compromises that need to be considered.Research limitations/implications As with the majority of accounting research that is concerned with the suffering of those at a distance, we too must tackle this conundrum in a meaningful way. As members of a society that is the largest per capita emitter of greenhouse gas, how do we speak for our drowning neighbors? The paper concludes with some insights from Boltanski (1999) as a way forward.Originality/value The paper presents a forward-looking scenario of a looming crisis from a sociological perspective. It adds to the literature on alternative accounts by using stories, media, government reports and other sources to holistically build a narrative grounded in a current and imaged social order. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oceanic people and places are increasingly labelled as either 'resilient' or 'vulnerable' to disasters and climate change. Resilience is often described in disaster discourse as a strategy designed to overcome vulnerability by helping communities to 'bounce back' in the wake of 'natural' disasters. Using ethnographic research conducted with Community Disaster and Climate Change Committees (CDCs) in Vanuatu in the wake of Tropical Cyclone Pam, this paper seeks to problematise disaster responses that see the 'community' as a space to be acted upon by outsiders, or where people will respond in a unified way to the challenges of rebuilding after disaster. Using political ecology framings this paper critiques the ideas of resilience that appear entrenched in community-based disaster and climate change adaptation discourse and practice in Oceania. Rather than presupposing resilience or vulnerability, this paper details the dispersal and distribution power and agency amongst individual actors and groups that either supported or manipulated, the distribution of goods by Community Disaster Committees. In this way, it moves beyond the limitations of conceptual framings of resilience in disaster management and climate change into a more considered appraisal of power, by exploring what James Ferguson has termed 'the politics of distribution' in the context of disaster. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses issues in the development of a methodology appropriate for eliciting sound quantitative data from primary school children in the complex contexts of ethnolinguistically diverse developing countries. Although these issues often occur in field-based surveys, the large extent and compound effects of their occurrence in ethnolinguistically diverse developing countries, particularly in research with young children, means that they combine to be imperative for project viability in these contexts. At the same time, the scale of the challenges often also means that they are regarded as unsurmountable and are disregarded at the very time when the need is highest to provide sound quantitative data on which to base education policy. The paper provides a framework of these interlocking issues relating to a survey's overall approach, instruments, the sampling scheme, and implementation. This is illustrated in detail via a large-scale cross-national study carried out with children in each grade level of Years 1–6 in three Pacific Island countries of Vanuatu, Kiribati, and Solomon Islands. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have been associated with development programmes for many decades. A theme of Lamberton’s commentary on such initiatives focuses on the lack of attention given to information as a key factor in the development process. His writing reiterated a number of arguments that he saw as being fundamental to the application of an information perspective to development issues. With a focus on agricultural development policy in the Pacific region, the paper uses a number of propositions that are suggested by Lamberton to analyse contemporary development initiatives in Pacific Island agriculture. These propositions focus attention on information costs that can influence the transfer of information and development of knowledge. Document analysis of selected published sources from a Pacific Island development programme are reviewed to illustrate the significance of information costs for development processes. The paper addresses the contention between traditional authority and knowledge and its significance for development. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

With an increasing emphasis on the social value of sport and events, there has been a shift in focus regarding the management and development process of event projects as well as their associated outcomes. This shift is about emphasizing a more strategic approach to developing social benefits by recognizing and utilizing leverageable resources related to sport events as a means of fostering lasting social and economic change (Chalip, 2006; O'Brien & Chalip, 2007; Schulenkorf & Edwards, 2012). In this paper, we adapt and apply the asset-based community development (ABCD) approach as a means of developing a more action-oriented, community-based approach to leveraging the social assets of sporting events. In applying the ABCD approach, we aim to shift the focus of event-led projects away from attempts to "solve" social problems (i.e., deficit perspective) to enhancing the existing strengths of communities (i.e., strengths perspective). We reflect on case study findings that highlight the challenges and opportunities in realizing an ABCD approach for disadvantaged communities through an examination of a healthy lifestyle community event initiative in the Pacific Islands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the digital age, advocating and improving digital literacy is a global challenge. There have been scales developed to measure individuals' digital literacy competencies; however, intervention programs have been only a few. This research paper articulates design details, validity, reliability and effectiveness of a new online modulated digital literacy intervention program (DLIP). For the development of DLIP, digital literacy is stipulated in this research as a universal framework that consists of six different literacies; media, information, technology, computer, visual, and communication literacy. An online module has been designed for each of these six literacies, and the concept of game-based learning has been used to engage the users and secure high user satisfaction. To test the reliability of the intervention, the Kuder- Richardson- 20 (KR-20) test was performed. The developed intervention was deemed to be reliable with the KR-20 value of 0.86. The construct validity was measured using the spearman's correlation test and since the values for all the constructs were above 0.3, the DLIP was valid. The effectiveness of the DLIP was evaluated by calculating the effect size. The Cohen's d test was used and the results show that the intervention was moderately effective. Although DLIP has been developed for the Pacific Islands it has global applicability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-skilled migration has increasingly been the subject of migration research over the past decade, but the focus has tended to be on health and IT professionals. In this paper, we address the mobility of schoolteachers in a region that has so far received little attention, the Pacific Islands. It is timely to examine trends in teacher mobility in the Pacific, given the shortages that are occurring elsewhere. In particular, the tailoring of immigration policies to attract highly skilled workers in areas of shortage could impact on the Pacific. The focus of the paper is on emigration and we argue that of three countries studied, only Fiji is negatively affected by teacher mobility. The Cook Islands and Vanuatu are currently experiencing low levels of international teacher emigration. Levels of internal mobility are also investigated in an attempt to see if remote areas and outer islands are experiencing teacher shortages. The preference for working near one's land or on one's home island is a strong drawcard in bringing people back home to teach. A problem arises, however, when not enough people are trained from a region/island and the incentives to encourage others to go and work there are less than effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This survey reviews the growing role and presence of China in the Island Pacific. As the late Professor Ron Crocombe remarked, in the Pacific a major transition is under way from a range of European to Asian influences. Many Western observers have viewed this rise of Asian, and specifically Chinese, influence with alarm, but Crocombe saw it as offering Pacific Islanders new opportunities. This paper first analyses the diversity that can be masked by terms such as ‘China’ and ‘the Pacific’. Then it surveys recent literature on China in the Pacific and scholarship concerned with longer Chinese histories in the region that most recent commentators ignore and which question a number of their assertions. Finally, it suggests possible future directions for historical research on this topic. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper is concerned with the impact of intellectual property laws on development in small island developing states. Much of the literature on intellectual property and development proceeds on the basis that there is only one model of each, namely the global model of intellectual property underpinned by the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights and a neoliberal development framework. This paper argues, conversely, that there are multiple models of both. Exposing this plurality should enable a far more creative approach to intellectual property policy, particularly in countries whose levels of technological development and social structures are very different to those in the global North. This argument is explored through focusing on the example of sea transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses contributions by researchers in Australasia and Pacific Islands to science and technology research. Topics include research output and science spending in New Zealand and Australia. Budget cuts in Australia and increase in research budget by New Zealand is mentioned. Institutions including University of Sydney and Monash University in Australia and University of Auckland in New Zealand are mentioned. Charts presenting details of the research papers are included.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of trade policy pertaining to imported processed food on poorer health outcomes of people’s in the Pacific island countries.Design/methodology/approach Using an extended gravity model, the paper adopts the OLS time varying importer/exporter effects method and a Pseudo Poisson maximum likelihood estimator on a cross-sectional panel data set of 215 countries and territories. The estimation procedure controlled for 11 Pacific island countries between 2003 and 2013.Findings The empirical findings revealed a positive and statistically significant relationship between trade liberalisation and increased processed food imports in the Pacific island countries. The findings also reveal that the access ratio (kg/person) to selected imported processed food high in salt to Pacific island countries has increased significantly over time.Originality/value While much of the trade literature reveals positive impact of trade on the prosperity of nations, this study makes a new contribution in terms of supporting a negative impact of trade liberalisation policy on people’s health in small island developing states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over two decades of vulnerability assessments have shown the Pacific Islands region to be one of the regions most at risk to the adverse consequences of climate change. Pacific Island countries have shown strong leadership in characterising the challenges of climate change, both nationally and for the region as a whole, and in identifying the most appropriate responses. This paper reviews the various Vulnerability, Risk and Adaptation (VRiA) Assessment Methods and Tools that have been used across the Pacific Islands region, with an emphasis on the past two decades. The aim is to identify the approaches that are best suited to the region, and to develop a common understanding and principles that may be relevant and useful to harmonising the assessment of vulnerability and risk, and of adaptation options across the region. Even though assessments undertaken in the Pacific Islands region tend to share the common objective of reducing vulnerabilities and risks, practitioners in the Pacific are using numerous approaches, methods and tools to assess vulnerabilities and identify possible adaptation interventions. No one approach will address all needs and accommodate all capacities. Rather, several successful approaches, methods and tools are identified. The paper also identifies and assesses the approaches, methods and tools that have merit for further use, without or with further improvements. Lessons learned as well as success stories and success factors are documented. These findings are reflected in principles designed to assist harmonisation of approaches to VRiA assessment. These principles, in turn, influence the development of a proposed higher-level framework and approach for VRiA assessments. It accommodates the various approaches, methods and tools commonly used with success in the Pacific. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to identify the factors that are responsible for the slow development of the renewable energy sector in the Pacific Island countries (PICs), and suggest ways of overcoming them. Design/methodology/approach – The paper compares the energy situation in Australia and Germany to that in the PICs, and the state of energy development in the PICs to its African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) counterparts. Findings – The paper finds that policy frameworks are important pre-requisites to the development of renewable energy. In addition, the absence of a science and technology base in the PICs is a serious impediment to the development of the renewable energy sector in these countries. It is found that the PICs are lagging behind in policy frameworks and institutional capacity building requirements as compared to other ACP countries. Practical implications – Policy frameworks must be established as an essential pre-requisite to the development of renewable energy in the PICs. In addition, ways and means must be found to address the lack of proper attitudes amongst decision-makers to the value of a science base in development. Originality/value – The paper identifies the underlying impediments to the rapid development of the renewable energy sector in the PICs, and suggests what could contribute to the lack of an appropriate science base that is considered as a requirement to development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The phrase ‘two worlds’ is often used to describe the way in which political leaders in the Pacific Islands navigate and define their lives, and the different sets of societal norms to which they are subject. The capacity to move between ‘worlds’ is often central to their claims to leadership legitimacy and can be one of the reasons why they are ultimately chosen to lead. Through a comparative analysis of their published life histories, this paper explores the lives of the 20th-century Pacific's political leaders by capturing their experiences of growing up and out of colonialism, and what they did before they took up political office. They describe being significantly shaped by their relationships with educational and religious institutions, including with particular teachers and mentors, their experiences living and working overseas, and their vocational backgrounds, both religious and professional. The paper concludes that rather than ‘two worlds’ — often used as a metaphor for a larger historical narrative about modernisation and the passing of traditional way of life — life histories highlight the importance of multiple ‘sites’, ‘spheres’ or ‘worlds’ to our understanding of leaders’ life trajectories. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper explores the challenge of respecting the local nature of traditional knowledge in two Pacific Islands’ regional initiatives. It argues that the embedded nature of traditional knowledge within the social fabric of Pacific Island communities necessitates an approach to regulation that respects existing customary laws and institutions, and contrasts this with the prevailing state-centred approaches. It also unpacks the different agendas behind the ambiguous term ‘protection’ and demonstrates the potential for misunderstanding among different stakeholders involved in this field. The paper finally identifies a number of negative consequences that could eventuate if a homogenised, state-based approach is adopted in this area, arguing that care must be taken to ensure that the regulatory framework chosen does not destroy more than it protects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sport of athletics is popular in Oceanian territories outside Australia and New Zealand, on the so-called Pacific Islands. However, little research has been done to trace the historical development of the sport in this region despite the fact that many of the region's national athletics federations have been members of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) since the 1960s. This paper aims to address this research gap by analyzing the historical development of athletics on the Pacific Islands. We identify key structures and processes that have shaped athletics and its governance until the present day. Primary sources from the Oceania Athletics Association (OAA) and Pacific Games Council archives as well as the offices of several member federations from the Pacific Islands are utilized. We argue that the unique environment in which the sport of athletics is practiced in the island states of Oceania has a history deeply rooted in the times of colonization. The athletics development on the Pacific Islands represents the implementation of agendas and programmes of foreign powers such as former colonial powers, the IAAF, the OAA and individuals with long-lasting experience in athletics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most research on climate change in South Pacific island communities has privileged people's observations of physical environmental change with less attention paid to how people interpret the causes of these changes. Increasingly, more studies are focusing on how communities are receiving messages about environmental degradation, and from whom they are receiving them. This case study draws upon ethnographic research conducted in November 2015 in Narikoso on Ono Island in Fiji's Kadavu Group. This village was in the process of relocating inland as a response to shoreline erosion and severe coastal flooding. By employing data drawn from interviews with government actors, religious leaders, and residents of Narikoso village along with fieldnotes from participant observation, this paper examines how village residents interpreted coastal flooding and shoreline erosion according to the biblical story of Noah's Ark alongside a secular narrative of climate change. I conclude by showing the unique challenges these worldviews had on the community's decision to relocate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with the early documented history of featherwork in China, as described in historical texts and literature up until the end of the Tang dynasty in 907 ce. Although featherwork from several Pacific islands and Latin America has recently been the subject of academic attention, the important Chinese tradition has been neglected. Drawing on studies of featherwork from other cultures, this paper divides these accounts by technical criterion into flexible base featherwork (clothing, curtains, hangings, and coverlets); rigid base featherwork (boxes, architectural detailing, jewelry, and screens); and most remarkably of all, deconstructionist featherwork, whereby the barbs of individual feathers were peeled apart and then spun with a silk core to create a feather thread, which was then woven into cloth. Featherwork was produced in vast quantities in early and medieval China to satisfy demand for these luxurious and brightly colored items, and exotic birds—kingfishers, parrots, pheasants, and so on—were traded across the empire to create these wonderful works of art. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This introduction sets out some of the key themes addressed by the papers in the special issue on 'Confronting the Naturalness of Disaster in the Pacific'. Disasters are now widely understood not as 'natural' phenomena but as events or processes that unfold at the intersection between natural or artificial hazards and human populations. We review some of the effects of the naturalisation of disaster before turning to the ways in which Pacific disasters are defined through government, media and public discourses. These discourses feature their own distinctive accounts of possible forms of agency in the context of disaster, and draw on markedly different frames of reference in attributing cause and blame. Similarly, contrasting temporalities and spatialities are invoked in addressing disasters as bounded phenomena. We conclude with reflections on the nature of responses to disaster in the Pacific in the context of increasingly unstable cultural, economic and environmental grounds for action induced by global climate change [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The main purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the main institutional and governance issues facing the Pacific Island countries (PlC) and to point out how they affect their economic performance. The paper also provides a description of the key characteristics of the PlC and points out why these characteristics may present special challenges to achieving sustainable levels of growth. Design/methodology/approach - This paper discusses the issues of governance, institutions and economic growth in the PICs. Findings The main conclusion of the paper is that PICs would have to align their policies so that appropriate and better economic integration is achieved not only regionally but also globally. Practical implications - This paper allows policy makers to take note of the main issues in governance and institution building. Originality/value - This paper provides policymakers and scholars an overview of the institutional and governance issues facing the PICs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the Comprehensive Pacific Rainfall Database (PACRAIN), which contains daily and monthly precipitation records from the tropical Pacific basin. The database is a collection of observations from a variety of sources, including one, the Schools of the Pacific Rainfall Climate Experiment (SPaRCE), that is unique to PACRAIN. SPaRCE is a cooperative field project and involves schools from various Pacific island and atoll nations. Recent enhancements to the database, including improved quality control, observation and data entry standardization, expansion of the network, increased collaboration with local meteorological directors, and enhanced high-resolution data (e.g., on hourly or minute time scales), are discussed. This paper also outlines some of the internal data and Web-based access specifics of the database. To illustrate the potential usefulness of the data, two examples of research using the PACRAIN database are provided and discussed. The first is an analysis of temporal changes in the extreme event characteristics of daily precipitation across the region. The second is an illustration of how the PACRAIN database can be used to analyze satellite-based precipitation algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the 2003 Annual meeting of Pacific Forum leaders from the 16 member states (14 Pacific Islands and two advanced countries in the region, namely Australia and New Zealand) held in Auckland, an idea of a single currency for the region was mooted. The single currency was indicated to be the Australia dollar. The success of any efforts for achieving such a form of integration depends on the degree of economic convergence of national economies. There are two aspects of convergence: nominal and real. They cover exchange rates, growth rates and inflation rates. Unless there is a high degree of convergence in these spheres, the costs of any premature integration could be disastrous. The objective of this paper is to investigate whether there exists any case at present for a currency union. The paper undertakes an empirical investigation, reports the results and presents some conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pacific island countries (PICs), ever since their independence during the second half of the last century, have been among the world's top ten recipients of official development assistance (ODA) on a per capita basis. Until the mid 1990s, most of them were receiving aid from their erstwhile colonial masters for budgetary support. With the introduction of reforms in ODA delivery in the late 1990s with focus on program and project-tied aid, it was expected that aid would directly facilitate creation of much-needed growth enhancing infrastructures, physical as well as social, since domestic savings were found to be insufficient to finance them. However, continued stagnation in some PICs and deterioration in some others have been causing concerns. This paper seeks to examine the effectiveness of aid by undertaking a case study of Fiji, which has a longer time series data needed for econometric investigation. Based on the study's findings, the paper lists some policy conclusions relevant to the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The student diversity in universities in Aotearoa 1 (New Zealand) challenges these institutions to attain more equitable outcomes particularly for indigenous groups and ethnic minorities. In New Zealand, current Government policies favour strategies aimed at increasing the academic achievement of Maori 2 and Pasifika 3 communities and offer financial support to institutions to do so. This paper examines the opposition by academic staff within a university to the implementation of an intervention within one such strategy, on the basis that the intervention, an extra tutorial specifically for Maori and Pasifika students, was unethical. The paper argues that withholding opportunities to improve the academic progress of traditionally marginalized groups maintain existing inequalities and is an obstruction of social justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Foreign aid and remittance inflows have been playing major roles in the economic growth and development of Pacific island countries (PICs). However, the relationship between these international capital inflows and export competitiveness of PICs has not been adequately studied. It is generally held that such capital transfers tend to hurt exports, a phenomenon known as Dutch disease. The objective of this paper is to examine the validity of the Dutch disease hypothesis in PICs with a case study of Fiji. Employing the bounds testing procedure, this empirical study reveals that inflows of both foreign aid and remittances have been contributing to the appreciation of Fiji's currency. The study establishes the validity of the Dutch disease hypothesis as far as Fiji is concerned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Worldwide, cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer among women, and the World Health Organization (WHO) Western Pacific Region, where the U.S.-affiliated Pacific Islands (USAPI) are located, accounts for one quarter of all estimated cases. Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines are recommended at age 11–12 years to prevent most cervical cancers. HPV vaccines were introduced across USAPI during 2007–2016, predominantly provided through school-located vaccination programs. Retrospective analysis using data from jurisdictional immunization information systems was used to estimate vaccination coverage among adolescent girls as of the last day of each calendar year during 2013–2023. This analysis measured progress toward the WHO 2030 vaccination coverage goal of ≥90% completion of the HPV vaccination series among girls by age 15 years. As of December 2023, initiation of the HPV vaccination series among adolescent girls aged 13–17 years ranged from 58.0% in Palau to 97.2% in the Northern Mariana Islands, and HPV vaccination series completion coverage ranged from 43.4% in Palau to 91.8% in the Northern Mariana Islands. HPV vaccination series completion coverage is >90% in the Northern Mariana Islands and is on track to meet WHO goals by 2030 in American Samoa. Assessment of adolescent vaccination coverage can help immunization programs monitor progress toward regional goals and identify populations and areas with low coverage. Implementing evidence-based strategies to increase vaccine access and coverage would benefit jurisdictions with lagging coverage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the Pandora's partly unsuccessful pursuit of the Bounty mutineers through the Pacific islands in 1791, the ship ran aground on a submerged reef and sank 140km east of Cape York, Queensland. Archaeological excavations revealed that the Pandora crew, in addition to their primary objective, made ethnographic material collections during their voyage, including 25 stone adzes and 5 stone pounders. These collected objects are of particular interest because they have escaped the past processes that might have impacted them had they made the journey back to Europe. In archaeological studies, for instance, these adzes were not included in 20th century typological analyses concerned with understanding the initial human migrations into Oceania, or in more recent geoarchaeological research that seeks to understand Polynesian voyaging, social networks and exchanges. Our paper contextualises the adzes and pounders found on the Pandora to understand the engagement between the European crewmembers and the local people they encountered during their journey through the Pacific Islands. The Pandora crew had participated in the early colonial collecting practices that were foundational to European museum collections and the beginnings of anthropological and archaeological enquiry in the Pacific. On the other hand, the Polynesian participants likely benefited from the engagement in ways that suited their own agendas. We argue that the Pandora objects and similar museum collections as a broader assemblage are important not only for archaeological research, but also because they potentially continue to hold contemporary significance for Polynesian people today and are a legacy that can benefit future generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ObjectiveBetween 1980 and 2008, two Pacific island nations – Nauru and the Cook Islands – experienced the fastest rates of increasing BMI in the world. Rates were over four times higher than the mean global BMI increase. The aim of the present paper is to examine why these populations have been so prone to obesity increases in recent times.DesignThree explanatory frames that apply to both countries are presented: (i) geographic isolation and genetic predisposition; (ii) small population and low food production capacity; and (iii) social change under colonial influence. These are compared with social changes documented by anthropologists during the colonial and post-colonial periods.SettingNauru and the Cook Islands.ResultsWhile islands are isolated, islanders are interconnected. Similarly, islands are small, but land use is socially determined. While obesity affects individuals, islanders are interdependent. New social values, which were rapidly propagated through institutions such as the colonial system of education and the cash economy, are today reflected in all aspects of islander life, including diet. Such historical social changes may predispose societies to obesity.ConclusionsColonial processes may have put in place the conditions for subsequent rapidly escalating obesity. Of the three frameworks discussed, social change under colonial influence is not immutable to further change in the future and could take place rapidly. In theorising obesity emergence in the Pacific islands, there is a need to incorporate the idea of obesity being a product of interdependence and interconnectedness, rather than independence and individual choice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT This study describes the development and deployment of a new climate data management system aimed at improving climate data management and associated climate services in Pacific island countries and East Timor. The system is called Climate Data for the Environment ( CliDE). Installed locally, it provides each country with a central relational database and web-based user interface that includes customizable key entry forms, quality control tools, station maintenance forms, meteorological and climate reports, and data file extracts. It has been deployed as free and open source software in 15 countries (East Timor, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Niue and Cook Islands). In developing CliDE, the project team sought to develop a database capable of providing a robust method of managing an individual country's meteorological observations from networks typically consisting of several to hundreds of stations. In many Pacific countries significant data remain only in paper form; therefore, a key consideration was in providing a secure and efficient means for digitizing paper records. As CliDE has developed, it has become the central hub of a multitude of climate and meteorological services of benefit to small national meteorological services, such as statistical reports, graphical analyses, data extractions, climate summaries, and products that can provide input to public works planning, agriculture and health sectors. It has helped improve significantly the work flow, data integrity and consistency beyond previous practices in the western Pacific. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to explore the history of the relationships between Japan and the Pacific Island Nations in the context of its ocean policy, and to survey the current situation. Particularly, this paper inquires into how Japan's maritime policy, nuclear policy, and official development assistance policy have affected relationships with countries in this region. Firstly, this paper gives a brief overview of the socio-political situations of Pacific Island Nations. Secondly, the history of the 'Southward Advance Theory' adopted as national policy by Japan in the Meiji era is summarized. Thirdly, how Japan successfully re-entered this region despite conflicts surrounding the nuclear issue after the Second World War is explored. Lastly, this paper investigates how official development assistance and PALM (Pacific Island Leaders Meeting) helped to develop relations between Japan and the Pacific Island Nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the connections and relationships between Chinese communities in Australia and the rest of the world. It explores the relationships, particularly between Australia and Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands. The sample of Chinese-Australian research is hoped to be of interest to scholars of the broader Chinese diaspora.

Abstract: The term “green growth” and its sister concepts, “blue‐green growth,” the “green economy,” and the “blue‐green economy,” have gained considerable traction in the Pacific island region in a short space of time. Pacific island governments, regional organisations, and development agencies all use the terms, which originate outside of the Pacific. What (and who) has driven the adoption of green growth terminology within the region? How has its usage in the region mirrored international usage? This paper presents findings from research on the vernacularisation of green growth terminology in Fiji and Vanuatu. We find a contested policy space, where Pacific actors deploy competing meanings of green growth terms in ways that both reflect their worldviews and support their agendas. This diversity has helped to underpin the rapid spread of green growth terminology in the region, while differentiating it from international usage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In the 21st century, Pacific island countries (PICs) continue to leverage for tourism the attributes that have imbued them, including appeals to their cultural, geographical, and climatic allure. However, the question raised more frequently by many is why despite the many decades of tourism across the region, development impacts from the sector remain largely muted. The key remit of this paper is to offer a status quo round‐up of tourism in PICs and to draw on key emergent themes that underlay the present context. There is little doubt that for policymakers and their international development partners, whether tourism has or can lead to enduring development outcomes remains clouded in questions over whether there is ample evidence available to support such assertions. However, this has failed to dampen the enthusiasm of multilateral agencies that promote the notion that tourism's potential remains largely underdeveloped. With largely narrow economic bases, PICs have little choice but to seek further development of tourism despite the many fundamental constraints that make them less competitive than Southeast Asian destinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tuna fisheries within the Exclusive Economic Zones of the Pacific islands are the richest in the world. Pacific Islanders have some of the highest per capita fish and seafood consumption rates in the world, and both commercial and subsistence fisheries are of vital significance. This paper sets out a vision for the region's fisheries that incorporates a number of elements, including sustainable harvesting of targeted fish stocks, protection of habitat, conservation of threatened species, maximising the value to the region of fish harvest, addressing the issues of marine pollution (including plastics), and increasing the employment opportunities for Pacific Islanders in the management and conservation of their resources, to meet Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14 and achieve truly sustainable fisheries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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A New Song for Coastal Fisheries , a strategy and roadmap produced through a participatory workshop facilitated by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, calls upon Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs) to ensure strong and up-to-date management policy, legislation, and planning for coastal fisheries. While climate change is not a core focus of the roadmap, the call of A New Song presents a unique opportunity to draft new or revised fishery legislation with climate principles in mind. In light of observed and predicted physical, chemical, and biological changes in the region's waters as a result of climate change, climate-ready legislation should promote effective, sustainable management of marine resources to maintain resilience to human and environmental drivers. Recent policy documents—such as A New Song and the FAO's Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries—provide guidance that can direct legislators in this work. This paper distills the guidance from A New Song and the FAO Guidelines into twelve benchmarks and conducts a coarse analysis of how well existing legislation in Pacific Island nations meets these benchmarks. While both A New Song and the FAO Guidelines mention the importance of mitigating and adapting to climate change, they are light on specifics. Considerations specific to climate change and its associated effects should also be incorporated where new or revised legislation is necessary. This paper suggests that to effectively implement the benchmarks of A New Song and the FAO Guidelines under a changing climate, legislation must allow management flexibility in the face of environmental change, ensure that scientific understanding of climate effects supports management decisions, and minimize adverse effects of climate change on the lives, livelihoods, and rights of communities. While acknowledging that most adaptation planning will occur at the scale of sub-national policies, strategies, and plans, this paper focuses on the capacity of new or revised legislation—as called for by A New Song—to affect adaptive capacity in Pacific island coastal fisheries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]