Pacific Nations Research Articles

Knowledge Management System for tracking of Greenhouse Gases

Data science is one of the emerging fields in computer science involving the extracting of insight from information assets for various level of collaboration and decision making. One of the key applications of data science is the solving of the environmental impact of climate change which has significantly affected small islands developing states in the Caribbean and Pacific nations. This paper will discuss the creation of a Knowledge Management System (KMS) as a mechanism for the storage of information in the Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) in Trinidad and Tobago. The primary purpose of the MRV is the tracking of Greenhouse Gases (GHG) this is achieved through the suppliers or stakeholders of data entering the GHG information either from calculations on activity data and/or meters available at the facility areas. This system captures the data and utilizes business intelligence techniques to gain insight into information such as determining reasons for reductions. The KMS is also utilized for data and information such as GHG emissions, document management and workflow processing of the GHG inventory cycle for the country.

Addressing the specialist workforce CAMH skill-gap: providing and evaluating iCAMH training in Fiji and Papua New Guinea.

Child and adolescent mental health problems are common and result in significant morbidity. Whereas in high-income countries there is an established workforce, in lower income countries, such as the Pacific nations, the workforce has little capacity despite a potentially higher population risk of mental disorder. We report on a workforce development effort, a child and adolescent mental health training package. We describe the implementation and evaluation of the International Child and Adolescent Mental Health certificate training in two Pacific nations. Clinicians rated the training positively. Some participants reported concern with teaching materials. Attitudes to child and adolescent mental health were more favourable following the course. A change in knowledge or skill could not be determined. The training seems of value to Pacific clinicians and the framework provides for case-based learning across settings. The training would benefit from the addition of a valid assessment of participant skill and knowledge. The sociocultural and contextual factors are considerations for the content and delivery. Contextually appropriate resources and teaching strategies are important.

Cancer control in small island nations: too often overlooked.

Cancer control in small island nations: too often overlooked.

Cancer management in the Pacific region: a report on innovation and good practice.

Pacific island countries and territories (PICTs) face the challenge of a growing cancer burden. In response to these challenges, examples of innovative practice in cancer planning, prevention, and treatment in the region are emerging, including regionalisation and coalition building in the US-affiliated Pacific nations, a point-of-care test and treat programme for cervical cancer control in Papua New Guinea, improving the management of children with cancer in the Pacific, and surgical workforce development in the region. For each innovation, key factors leading to its success have been identified that could allow the implementation of these new developments in other PICTs or regions outside of the Pacific islands. These factors include the strengthening of partnerships within and between countries, regional collaboration within the Pacific islands (eg, the US-affiliated Pacific nations) and with other regional groupings of small island nations (eg, the Caribbean islands), a local commitment to the idea of change, and the development of PICT-specific programmes.

Groundwater as a Source of Drinking Water in Southeast Asia and the Pacific: A Multi-Country Review of Current Reliance and Resource Concerns

Groundwater is widely acknowledged to be an important source of drinking water in low-income regions, and it, therefore, plays a critical role in the realization of the human right to water. However, the proportion of households using groundwater compared with other sources is rarely quantified, with national and global datasets more focused on facilities—rather than resources—used. This is a significant gap in knowledge, particularly in light of efforts to expand water services in line with the inclusive and integrated agenda of the Sustainable Development Goals. Understanding the prevalence of groundwater reliance for drinking is critical for those involved in water services planning and management, so they can better monitor and advocate for management of water resources that supports sustainable services for households. This paper contributes data that can be used to strengthen the integration of resource considerations within water service delivery and inform the work of development partners supporting this area. We approach this issue from two perspectives. Firstly, we collate data on the proportion of households using groundwater as their primary drinking water source for 10 Southeast Asian and Pacific nations, finding an average of 66% (range of 17–93% for individual countries) of households in urban areas and 60% (range of 22–95%) of households in rural areas rely on groundwater for drinking. Together, these constitute 79% of the total population across the case study countries. Secondly, we review current and emerging groundwater resource concerns within each country, using a systems thinking approach to assess how groundwater resource issues influence household water services. Findings support the case for governments and development agencies to strengthen engagement with groundwater resource management as foundational for achieving sustainable water services for all.

International visitor surveys

International visitor surveys

TXTTaofiTapaa: pilot trial of a Samoan mobile phone smoking cessation programme

# Background Smoking remains a major risk factor to good health across the Pacific region. Samoa, like other Pacific nations, has signed up to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) to reduce the prevalence through actions including providing smoking cessation services. A text message cessation programme that had been proven successful in New Zealand was adapted and trialled in Samoa. The aims of this study were to trial the Samoan mCessation programme TXTTaofiTapaa to determine the feasibility, acceptability and potential to help smokers in Samoa to quit. # Methods One hundred smokers across Samoa were recruited to the trial but early technical issues meant not all received the programme immediately and therefore were not able to be followed up. # Results Of the 72 participants providing follow up data, 28 (38.9%) reported abstinence for at least seven days at 1-month follow up. In addition, 68 (94.4%) said they liked the programme, 61 (84.7%) said they thought it would be effective for Samoans, 67 (93.1%) said they would recommend the programme to others, and 37 (15.9%) said that it helped them to try to quit smoking at least once. # Conclusions Delivering a text message cessation programme (TXTTaofiTapaa) in Samoa is feasible, and smokers in Samoa appear to find it to be both acceptable and helpful. # Implications This study adds to our knowledge about the adaptation of proven effective technology based smoking cessation interventions from high income countries with multifaceted tobacco control strategies, to different contexts. In this case, dealing with differences in culture, language, and the tobacco control environment.

Early Cancer detection in the Pacific

Abstract Cancer is now the second leading cause of death across the South Pacific Region, and leading cause of death in at least two Pacific nations. As Pacific countries are also operating health systems with constrictive budgets and constrained resourcing, it can be difficult to quantify and obtain precise cancer measures and estimates such as incidence, morbidity, survival and mortality figures over time. It is acknowledged that within this resource constrained environment, the diagnosis, treatment and management of cancer patients is fraught with challenges and difficulties where routine tests and equipment may be unavailable and even vary from hospital to hospital. Circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) refers to tumour DNA fragments found in the blood circulation. Using a simple blood test, these fragments can be identified by the presence of mutations in cancer genes and can be isolated and quantified to provide information concerning cancer’s size and progression. It is anticipated this simple method of detecting and monitoring cancer will enhance the precision of cancer diagnostics and surveillance and also lead to improved cancer health outcomes for Pacific Peoples in the Region. Preliminary engagement efforts with clinical and research persons were undertaken in order to understand the local context and explore the potential utility of ctDNA technology for early cancer detection to support and improve the diagnostics, care and health outcomes of cancer patients in the Solomon Islands. Interest was expressed in the possibility of utilizing a simple blood sample to allow detection and monitoring of cancer growth. The potential utility of ctDNA for early cancer detection remains a promising approach for cancer diagnostics.

Bilateral agreements for the protection of migratory birdlife: the implementation of the China-Australia Migratory Bird Agreement (CAMBA)

Every year, millions of migratory birds journey along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF). The scope of the EAAF encompasses Asia Pacific nations like Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia. The effective conservation of these birds rests upon the implementation of bilateral legal agreements as well as non-binding regional initiatives along this North-South nexus. This article evaluates the implementation of one of the most important bilateral bird agreements in the region – the China-Australia Migratory Bird Agreement (CAMBA). The main obligations in CAMBA are identified; as are the legal initiatives adopted by both China and Australia which reflect CAMBA's obligations. Whilst Australian law makes specific reference to CAMBA, Chinese law is far less direct, though perhaps no less effective. The argument is made that the findings in this article have relevance for an improved understanding of the mechanisms for transboundary governance of migratory birdlife, especially in the Asia Pacific.

Mobilizing cultural supports against the commercial sexual exploitation of (female) children (CSEC) in Solomon Islands community development

ABSTRACTAs reflected in the Pacific nation of Solomon Islands (SI), child trafficking and the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) represent global problems with serious ramifications for community development. While acknowledging the deployment of internationalist, “child rights” interventions combined with top-down legislative provisions, this article revisits the possibility of positive, community-based strategies. Having appraised problematic contexts of the SI economy, society, and culture, it advances a comprehensive theoretical platform to facilitate a practice approach using customary and local measures to foster the status of women and children, counter CSEC, and advance community relations. Explained at both national and local scales, the methodology is presented for review prior to implementation. If successful, it is likely to have wide application in other afflicted societies.

Karoronga, kele’a, talanoa, tapoetethakot and va: expanding millennial notions of a ‘Pacific way’ journalism education and media research culture

As critical issues such as climate change, exploited fisheries, declining human rights, and reconfiguration of political systems inherited at independence increasingly challenge the microstates of Asia-Pacific, approaches to news media and journalism education are also under strain. University-based journalism education was introduced to the South Pacific in Papua New Guinea at independence in 1975 and in Fiji at the regional University of the South Pacific in 1987, while Technical Vocational Educational and Training institutions have been a more recent addition in the region. Some scholars argue there is little difference between Pacific and Western approaches to journalism, or that some journalism schools are too focused on Western media education, while others assert there is a distinctive style of journalism in Oceania with cultural variations based on the country where it is practiced and parallels with some approaches in Asia such as “mindful journalism.” This paper examines a “Pacific way” journalism debate which echoes a regional political concept coined by the late Fiji president, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara. The paper argues for a greater appreciation of the complexities of media cultures in Pacific nations and proposes a more nuanced, reflexive approach to journalism in the Pacific region. This is reflected in a “talanoa journalism” model that he advocates as a more culturally appropriate benchmark than monocultural media templates.

Daphne Marlatt’s West Coast Work with Noh

Although best known for her poetry and fiction, Daphne Marlatt has also authored dramatic works, including The Gull, an award-winning Noh drama created in intercultural collaboration with Japanese artists and premiered in Richmond, British Columbia, in 2006, and the libretto for Shadow Catch, a Noh-inspired chamber opera set in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside and premiered there in 2011. Marlatt’s engagement with Noh illuminates her feminist, antiracist, Buddhist ecopoetics, inflected by scholarship and respect for Noh tradition. Her work attends carefully to place, the particular situations of women, and the cultural authority of Pacific Coast First Nations, and it illustrates the practice of intercultural humanist philology as discussed by Edward Said in his preface to the twenty-fifth-anniversary edition of Orientalism.

Workers' Remittances, Capital Inflows, and Economic Growth in Developing Asia and the Pacific

This paper examines the impact of remittances on economic growth, using developing countries in Asia and the Pacific as a case study. Using data for the period 1993–2013, our results show that remittances only generate negative and significant impacts on economic growth if they reach 10 percent of GDP or higher. A remittances‐to‐GDP ratio of below 10 percent could still impact growth negatively, but the effect is statistically insignificant. The present study finds some degree of substitutability between remittances and financial development. Foreign direct investment (FDI), but not other types of capital inflow, contributes significantly to economic growth. Other traditional growth engines, including education, trade openness, and domestic investment, are crucial in promoting growth in developing Asian and Pacific nations.

Malaysia’s Rural Health Development: Foundation of Universal Health Coverage (UHC)

From 101 records relating to health kept in the National Archives of Malaysia for the period 1946–1981, 30 records were chosen using purposive criterion-based sampling on dimensions of universal health coverage (UHC) and health system governance. From those 30, document review was performed on 13 records that were selected based on relevance to analysis of the evolution of private and public health institutions and their roles in achieving UHC from 1946 to 1981. UHC relates to the ability of patients to access good quality service with high population coverage of health care at low financial risk. Malaya was a former Western Pacific nation ruled by the British colonial government. Initially, the government bore the cost of medicines and passages between the United Kingdom and Malaya for Red Cross and St. John’s ambulance teams to serve in rural areas in Malaya. This was later replaced by home grown Rural Health Teams trained in purpose built Rural Health Centres beginning with the first such training school in Jitra under the Rural Health Scheme. The Rural Health Scheme was implemented from 1953 to 1956 and marked an ambitious period of utilising limited resources to expand human resource and establish District Health Centres, Sub-District Health Centres, Midwives’ Houses and Maternal and Child Health Centres across the rural landscape of Malaya. After analysis, it was found that the British colonial government’s efforts in improving public health through the Rural Health Scheme had provided the foundation for achieving UHC in Malaysia today. DOI : http://dx.doi.org./10.17576/JSKM-2019-1701-05

Rearticulating Diplomatic Relationships: Contextualizing Tuvalu-Taiwan Relations

In March 1979, Tuvalu’s government newspaper began an ongoing discussion of Tuvalu’s Asian diplomacy, highlighting the rapid development of relationships with East Asian nations like Taiwan shortly after Tuvalu’s independence in 1978. Contemporaneously, the Taiwan government began reporting on early diplomatic forays into Pacific nations, including Tuvalu. These newspaper and government reports are frequently characterized by a narrative style that suggests the complexities of Pacific-Asia relationships at the time and that provides a foundation from which more recent discourse on Tuvalu-Taiwan relations can be contextualized. In this paper, I adopt a Pacific studies rationale, articulation theory, and discourse analysis. I examine official Tuvaluan and Taiwanese narratives from the 1970s and 1980s to demonstrate how early diplomacy was determined not by official maneuvering but by preexisting trans-local connections. Subsequently, in analyzing Tuvaluan and Taiwanese leadership statements from 2000 to the present, I sketch how, more recently, Tuvalu and Taiwan have used each other to shape their national identities. However, I also highlight connections to earlier narratives, especially tension in Tuvaluan discourse due to fisheries conflicts with Taiwan and preoccupation in Taiwanese discourse regarding whether Taiwan is superior to Tuvalu. Finally, I demonstrate how articulations between early narratives and more recent discourse foreground Tuvaluan and Pacific agency and complicate assumed Asia-Pacific power hierarchies.

Readiness of local government in PPP project development - case of LRT Bandung

Infrastructure development with PPP (Public Private Partnership) scheme is a relatively new concept applied by the Indonesian construction industry as an alternative to overcome delays and the low absorption of the Indonesian Government Budget (APBN) and Regional Government Budget (APBD) in the procurement of basic infrastructure. However, in practice, the failure rate of the government in carrying out infrastructure projects with PPP scheme is high. The failure of PPP project is generally caused by the way the government works in preparing projects that are not adjusted to the needs of PPP, the constraints of land acquisition, poor coordination between central and local government, participation, and overlapping regulations. This raises the question of how to know the condition of government readiness in implementing projects under PPP scheme and identify the constraints affecting government readiness. This study develops an assessment that can be used to measure government readiness in implementing projects under PPP scheme. Factors used in the system were developed based on three studies on the readiness assessment systems in various countries, namely: Public-Private Partnerships for Transport Infrastructure Toolkit from PPPIRC World Bank, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). The assessment will be used to assess the level of readiness and constraints faced by the government of Bandung in implementing the project LRT Bandung.

Is the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Exclusively an Economic Regime?

Long neglected at the periphery of global politics, the Pacific region is home to more microstates than any other region on earth. As defined herein, the Pacific region comprises the sixteen states recognised by the Pacific Island Forum itself.** Inherently ocean-locked, the Pacific Island countries face numerous challenges of capacity and mobility. Though it maintains the typical diversity and variance of any region - from relatively resource-rich and mountainous Papua New Guinea (PNG), to the atoll states of Republic Marshall Islands (RMI), Tuvalu and Kiribati - it is noticeable for its reliance on foreign aid in order to maintain ongoing development. Even though lacking in major political flashpoints, the region still harbours strains of geopolitical struggle between major Asian powers. Japan, China and Taiwan all have investment and diplomatic interest in the region as the Pacific nations create a significant bloc of votes in the United Nations (UN). In addition to the proxy concerns of such nations, the Pacific Island countries have gained extra international influence in the past two decades due to their concerted lobbying in regard the negative impact of climate change in small island developing states. Their efforts have managed to bring the changing climate more consistently into the public arena, and also into the domain of security studies, thereby attempting to bridge the high and low branches of political studies.

REVIEW: Noted; Moral quandary over social and political use of mobile phones

The Moral Economy of Mobile Phones: Pacific Islands Perspectives, edited by Robert J. Foster and Heather A. Horst. Canberra: ANU Press, 2018. 163 pages. ISBN 978-1-7604-6208-6 (print); 978-1-7604-6209-3 (e-book)
 WHILE anthropologists have mainly studied mobile phone use at an individual or group level, the entry of Digicel into Pacific nations’ mobile markets over the past decade has introduced a wider set of issues that are explored here in detail.

ANZ‐Pacific Migration Governance System

AbstractInternational migration governance can be represented as a system set up to manage cross‐border mobility of people in the interest of participating states; mostly by means of bilateral agreements between countries and top‐down, UN‐mediated multilateral and EU‐directed plurilateral arrangements. The latter have often failed to work effectively, so we ask if there is another way. We argue that Australia and New Zealand, together with several Pacific nations, form the ANZ Pacific Migration Governance System (ANZPAC), which provides an alternative way of regional migration governance. We call it an idiorhythmic system of governance: a bottom‐up arrangement between states using devolved and/or self‐regulating coordinating mechanisms to allow participating states sufficient freedom to pursue their own agendas at a pace determined mostly uni‐nationally. ANZPAC facilitates enhanced mobility of migrants to and within the region while also helping to reticulate inflows of unauthorized immigrants. It offers interesting, albeit at times controversial, lessons for other countries.Polish Research Foundation NCNOPUS 10 research support scheme (research project 2015/19/B/HS4/00364 ‘The impact of wealth formation by economic migrants on their mobility and integration: Polish migrants in countries of the European Community and Australia’).

Social Work Education in Aotearoa New Zealand: Building a Profession

Social work in the Pacific nation Aotearoa New Zealand has developed within a unique cultural and socio-political context. An essentially western model of social work developed sixty years ago in a colonial state which imposed British education, policing, child welfare, criminal justice and mental health systems into to the lives of Māori people. Growing awareness of the negative impacts of those systems on Māori families and communities led to significant challenges to the social work profession, leading to conflict and continuing ambivalence about the emergent professionalisation project. Social work education reflects these tensions, being influenced by political forces, the global struggles of indigenous peoples and, in the last three decades, the impact of neoliberalism in social welfare reform. A limited form of statutory regulation in 2003 saw the introduction of benchmark educational qualifications for entry to social work. In 2018, legislation will introduce mandatory registration and protection of title. The aim of this article is to explore the history of social work in this national context with reference to a Bourdieusian framework of professional capital to explain why social work education is, and will remain, a site of struggle in its mission for social justice and human rights informed practice.