Samoan Migrants Research Articles

Samoan migrants' perspectives on diabetes: A qualitative study.

The Samoan community in Australia has one of the highest rates of diabetes in Australia. We explored the experiences and perceptions of Samoan patients living with diabetes and their family members. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with adults from a Samoan background living in Australia who had diabetes and their family members. Participants were recruited from a single general practice with a high proportion of Pacific Islander patients, through self-response to waiting room flyers. Inductive thematic analysis was conducted using a constructivist-grounded theory approach. This qualitative project was part of the developmental phase of a larger project aiming to promote healthy lifestyles and decrease diabetes in the Samoan community in Sydney, Australia. Twenty participants, aged 36-67years, were interviewed. The majority was men (n=13) and all were migrants to Australia. Participants reported a range of barriers to early detection and self-management of diabetes, including dietary practices common within their culture and the role of church and religion. They identified that pride in their heritage and role within families could be a barrier to care but also provided an opportunity for health promotion. The cultural factors which influence the risk and management of diabetes in the Samoan community in Australia can be the barriers to health change but also provide opportunities for culturally targeted diabetes education and health promotion. SO WHAT?: These findings will inform the development of approaches for the prevention and management of diabetes within the Samoan-Australian community. These include health-promotion initiatives which take into account the role of cultural dietary practices, diabetes stigma, cultural pride and working with churches.

Living Theory

When writing, ethnographers are faced with the hermeneutic task of interweaving their dialogues with scholars and their dialogues with their interlocutors in the field. This article is a critique of a long-standing tendency in anthropology to conflate social analysis in texts with social analysis on the ground. I am taking issue with a tendency to compare social theorists such as Heidegger or Bakhtin with the social analysts met during fieldwork. In this intellectual thought exercise, I compare structural functionalists with Samoan migrants to explore some of the differences between writing and practicing social analysis.

Compelling culture: The rhetoric of assimilation among Samoan migrants in the United States

Studies of assimilation tend to focus on whether or not members of a migrant group are adjusting to their new surroundings. This article inverts this focus, asking not how migrant groups adjust, but rather how migrant groups use the language of assimilation to explain generation gaps and other exigencies of migration. This inversion sheds light on the ways a migrant group's epistemological assumptions underlie their understandings of cultural identity, and shape how they might respond to dilemmas caused by migration. Building upon ethnographic fieldwork among Samoan migrants in the United States, the article explores how and why community workers use the rhetoric of assimilation to teach Samoan parents how to raise children in the US context.

When Culture Is Not A System: Why Samoan Cultural Brokers Can Not Do Their Job

In independent and American Samoa, Samoan representatives have historically been successful at furthering their communities' interests when dealing with various colonial regimes. Yet during my fieldwork in California, I kept witnessing failed encounters between Samoan migrants and government officials. I argue that government officials helped create these problems through the ways they expected Samoan migrants to act as culture-bearers. I conclude by exploring how cultural mediators become the focal point for tensions generated by the contradictory assumptions government system-carriers and Samoan culture-bearers hold about how to relate to social orders.

Occupation-specific analysis of migration and remittance behaviour: Pacific Island nurses in Australia and New Zealand

Most previous empirical studies of migration and remittances ignored possible differences among occupational categories of migrants. Where human capital investment decisions and occupational choices are influenced by perceived prospects for international migration, internationally tradable occupations such as nursing are likely to attract individuals with particular attributes and with a stronger propensity to migrate. We argue that this can also affect the remittance behaviour of such occupational groups, pointing to the need for a disaggregated analysis by occupational category. This paper reports the results of a recent survey of nurses in Fiji, Tonga and Samoa, and nurse migrants from the same countries in Australia and New Zealand. We also report the findings from a re-analysis of earlier remittance data from Tongan and Samoan migrants in Australia. Nurse household remittance behaviour is statistically different from others, with nurses remitting more generously and consistently over time. The reasons and implications are explored. The impact and volume of nurse remittances emphasise the sustainability of the migration, remittances, aid and bureaucracy (MIRAB) system.

Comparative labor market performance of visaed and non-visaed migrants: Pacific islanders in Sydney.

Using survey data for Tongan and Samoan migrants in Sydney the effects of visa restrictions on labor market performance of migrants are assessed. Univariate analysis suggests a positive association between unemployment and the unrestricted entry of Samoan step-migrants from New Zealand. A probit model of the determinants of unemployment is estimated with controls for human capital and demographic variables. While human capital endowments are important, visa restrictions do not have a significant effect on either group‘s employability. Implications for policy are discussed highlighting the complementarities between host country immigration policies and foreign aid programs.

Estimating remittance functions for Pacific Island Migrants

There is concern that Pacific island economies dependent on remittances of migrants will endure foreign exchange shortages and declining living standards as remittance levels drop due to lower migration rates and the belief that migrants' willingness to remit decreases over time. The empirical validity of the remittance-decay hypothesis has never been tested. From survey data on Tongan and Western Samoan migrants in Sydney, this paper estimates remittance functions using Tobit regression analysis. It is found that the remittance-decay hypothesis has no empirical validity and migrants are motivated by factors other than altruistic family support, including asset accumulation and investment back home.

Some Common Fallacies About Migrants’ Remittances in the South Pacific: Lessons from Tongan and Western Samoan Research

Some Common Fallacies About Migrants’ Remittances in the South Pacific: Lessons from Tongan and Western Samoan Research

Attitudes and perceptions concerning elderly Samoans in rural Western Samoa, American Samoa, and urban Honolulu

Samoan cultural values place a high emphasis on respect and obedience toward elders. However, modernization and migration have caused changes in traditional social structure, social organization, household composition, economic opportunities, and health care systems. This article reports results from interviews on attitudes and perceptions of the elderly administered to 137 young adults (aged 18-37) and 106 older adults (aged 41-82) in rural Western Samoa, modernizing American Samoa, and Samoan migrants in urban Honolulu. The results indicate there are significant signs of both change and stability in the status of elderly Samoans. Over 75% of Samoans report that the elderly are respected, obeyed, and consulted on important decisions. However, Samoans in American Samoa and Honolulu report that the status of the elderly has declined over the past ten years. Older Samoans in Honolulu emphasize the maintenance of traditional norms rather than changes in the behavior toward the elderly.

Note

Pacific ViewpointVolume 31, Issue 1 p. 63-66 ArticleFree Access Note Transnational Corporations of Kin and the Mirab System: The Case of Tuvalu Doua Munro, Doua Munro Bond UniversitySearch for more papers by this author Doua Munro, Doua Munro Bond UniversitySearch for more papers by this author First published: 01 May 1990 https://doi.org/10.1111/apv.311004Citations: 13AboutPDF ToolsExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat References 1Bertram, Geoffrey, 1986. Sustainable Development in Pacific Micro-economies World Development 14(7): 809- 22 2Bertram, I. G. and Watters, R. F. 1985. The MIRAB Economy in SOuth Pacific Microstates Pacific Viewpoint 26(3): 497- 519 3Bertram, I. G. and Watters, R. F. 1986. The MIRAB Process: Earlier Analyses in Context Pacific Viewpoint 27(1): 47- 59 4Brady, I. A. 1970. Land Tenure Kinship and Community Structure: Strategies for Living in the Ellice Islands of Western Polynesia unpublished Ph D dissertation University of Oregon 5Chambers, Anne 1983 Exchange and Social Organization in Nanumea a Polynesian Atoll Society unpublished Ph D dissertation University of California Berkeley 6Chambers, Anne, 1984. Nanumea Atoll Economy: Social Change in Kiribati and Tuvalu no 6 Canberra: Development Studies Centre Australian National University 7Curson, P. H., 1979. Migration Remittances and Social Networks Among Cook Islanders Pacific Viewpoint 20(20): 185- 98 8Firth, Raymond, 1957. A Note on Descent Groups in Polynesia Man 1(2): 4- 8 9Geddes, W., H. Chambers, B. Sewell, R. Lawrence and R. Watters, 1982. Islands on the Line: Team Report. Atoll Economy: Social Change in Kiribati and Tuvalu no 1 Canberra: Development Studies Centre: Australian National University 10Macdonald, Barrie, 1982. Cinderellas of the Empire: Towards a History of Kiribati and Tuvalu Canberra: Australian National University Press 11Macpherson, Cluny, 1985. Public and Private Views of Home: will Western Samoan migrants return home Pacific Viewpoint 26(1): 242- 62 12Marcus, George, 1981. Power on the Extreme Periphery: The Perspective of Tongan Elites in the Modern World System Pacific Viewpoint 22(1): 48- 64 13Moore, Clive, 1985. Kanaka: A History of Melanesian Mackay Port Moresby: Institute of Papua New Guinea Studies and the University of Papua New Guinea Press 14Morton, Keith L., 1987. The Atomization of Tongan Society Pacific Studies 10(2): 47- 72 15Munro, Doug and Bedford, Richard, 1980. Historical Background in Simeona Iosia and Sheila Macrae (eds) A Report on the Results of the Census of Population of Tuvalu 1979 Funafuti: Government of Tuvalu 16Pitt, David and Macpherson, Cluny, 1974. Emerging Pluralism: The Samoan Community in New Zealand Auckland: Longman Paul Citing Literature Volume31, Issue1May 1990Pages 63-66 ReferencesRelatedInformation

Public and Private Views of Home: Will Western Samoan Migrants Return?

This paper a case study of Western Samoans resident in New Zealand focuses on the factors that shape migrants perceptions of home and therefore influence the probability of their return. 54 Samoans were interviewed in Western Samoa New Zealand and Hawaii from 1970 to 1984. The cultural bias against criticism was practically eliminated by the fact that all of those interviewed were known to the author. Migrants from Western Samoa residing in New Zealand display considerable public affection for their homeland donating substantial amounts of money time and energy to the activities of both their families and their ancestral villages. Collectively they convey the impression of a group that is firmly committed to its homeland and seeks to maintain its rights to access and use of potentially productive ground. In the social science literature these actions and behaviors are often interpreted as evidence of a high probability of eventual return to the place of origin. This paper takes the contrary position that such interpretations oversimplify reality. First by imputing a primary motive--self interest--to a specified activity such interpretations neglect other motives essential to a complete explanation of such activities. Secondly concentration on public affection for the homeland leads to inattention to any private reservations about it. Careful scrutiny of the critical assessments that migrants harbor about their country island or community of origin may lead to rather different conclusions about the likelihood of their eventual return.

Stress and health among Polynesian migrants to New Zealand.

A survey study of 228 Samoans, 212 Cook Islanders, and 224 native-born New Zealanders of European background randomly selected from the same working-class neighborhoods of Auckland was interviewed in their own language by same-sex interviewers on their adaptation to life in New Zealand's major industrial city. Strong positive associations were found between the number of symptoms of poor health reported and both the frequency of external situational stressors and the strength of Type A psychological attributes, which together account for 25% of the variance in health status. These statistical relationships were replicated within all ethnic and both sex groups. Social support systems, however, did not provide the stress-buffering effects anticipated, raising the issue of the possible psychic costs of maintaining these kinship ties, particularly among Samoan migrants.

The socioeconomic context of migrants and minorities

This paper is based on the author's experiences during first, participation in an anthropological study of migrants, particularly Samoan migrants, in New Zealand over a period of 10 years in the late 1960s–mid- 1970s (Pitt & MacPherson, 1975) and secondly, participation over the last 3 years in a World Health Organization programme concerned with promoting the health and welfare of children, many of whom were migrants living in poverty.

Part one: Determinants of the fertility of Samoan migrants in Hawaii

Abstract Relationships among age at marriage, age at migration, education, ideal number of children, years since marriage and migration, and number of live births in Samoa and Hawaii are analyzed in a cross‐sectional sample of Samoan women currently living in Hawaii. Migration from Samoa to Oahu, Hawaii leads to a shift from a relatively traditional environment to a modern, urbanized setting. The timing of this migration, as well as the characteristics of the female migrants, influences the way in which the migration process affects fertility. Path analysis is used to quantify the interrelationships among the variables for a model which includes the determinants of the number of live births to a female migrant, both before and after migration. Quantification of the model provides preliminary support for the hypothesis that as exposure to a modern, urbanized environment increases, fertility decreases.

Salivary amylase activity in Samoan migrants

Whole saliva was collected from adults and children in three communities of Samoan migrants in Hawaii. Amylase isoenzymes were separated by electrophoresis on cellulose acetate membranes. Measurements weremade of amylase activities and protein content. Compared with reports of other populations, Samoans have a reduced number of a‐amylase isoenzymes and standard levels of salivary amylase and protein. Although the results are inconclusive, they presently do not support the genetotrophic hypothesis linking high starch diets with high levels of salivary a‐amylase.