1. Researching Pacific island livelihoods: mobility, natural resource management and nissology.
- Author
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Christensen AE and Mertz O
- Subjects
- Family Health ethnology, History, 19th Century, History, 20th Century, History, 21st Century, Humans, Pacific Islands ethnology, Residence Characteristics history, Social Conditions economics, Social Conditions history, Social Conditions legislation & jurisprudence, Conservation of Natural Resources economics, Conservation of Natural Resources history, Conservation of Natural Resources legislation & jurisprudence, Cultural Characteristics history, Family Characteristics ethnology, Family Characteristics history, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander education, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander ethnology, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander history, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander legislation & jurisprudence, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander psychology, Social Mobility economics, Social Mobility history, Socioeconomic Factors history
- Abstract
Small island literature is vast in focus and aim, and is rooted in many different disciplines. The challenge is to find common grounds for researching small islands conceptually and theoretically. The aim of this article is to comment on how to research small islands, including a discussion on contemporary theories of nissology and conceptual analytical frameworks for island research. Through a review of selected case-study-based island literature on changing livelihoods coming out of the South Pacific, we wish to illustrate and discuss advantages of finding common grounds for small island studies. The focus is on two dimensions of island livelihood, migration and natural resource management, both of which are significant contributors in making island livelihoods and shaping Pacific seascapes. We argue that there is still a substantial lack of studies targeting small island dynamics that are empirical and interdisciplinary in focus and link socio-economic and ecological processes of small island societies at temporal and analytical scales.
- Published
- 2010
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