Capacity building in the marine sector in the Pacific Islands: the role of the University of the South Pacific's Marine Studies Programme

Marine Policy ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 437-444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joeli Veitayaki ◽  
G. Robin South
Keyword(s):  
Capacity Building ◽  
Pacific Islands ◽  
The South ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
The University

scholarly journals COVID-19 and online learning experiences of Solomon Islands students at the University of the South Pacific

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 89-102
Author(s):  
Jeremy Dorovolomo ◽  
Patricia Rodie ◽  
Billy Fito'o ◽  
Loriza Zinnie Rafiq
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Pacific Islands ◽  
Solomon Islands ◽  
Learning Experiences ◽  
The South ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
E Learning ◽  
New Applications ◽  
The University

This study aims to investigate the experiences of Solomon Islands students during the shift to online, remote teaching during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. It utilises the tokstori to collect data from 16 Solomon Islands students of the University of the South Pacific’s (USP) Suva and Honiara campuses. It is framed and analysed data using Khan’s eight dimensions of gauging successful e-learning experiences. Prior to COVID-19, many of the courses at the USP were offered in blended mode, which encompasses both online and face-to-face delivery. However, with a sudden move to fully online offerings, and the associated fears resulting from the unknowns of COVID-19, this was disruptive and traumatic for many students. However, analysis identified several key factors aiding student success including many Solomon Islands students being able to eventually cope with the disruption and displayed independence and resilience. It is also found that Solomon Island students got to experience new applications and tools such as, for example, having to be in Zoom or having to sit an online exam. This study has potential to inform higher education institutes (HEIs) in the Pacific Islands and beyond, and the need to carefully navigate the practical realities of the islands in the interaction between digital technologies, instructors and students to facilitate online learning post-pandemic.

scholarly journals Power, the Pacific Islands, and the Prestige Press: A Case Study of How Climate Reporting is Influenced by UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Summits

2021 ◽  
pp. 194016122110180
Author(s):  
Meghan M. Shea ◽  
James Painter ◽  
Shannon Osaka
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Pacific Islands ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Emotional Appeals ◽  
Issue Attention ◽  
Quantitative Results

While studies have investigated UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meetings as drivers of climate change reporting as well as the geopolitical role of Pacific Islands in these international forums, little research examines the intersection: how media coverage of Pacific Islands and climate change (PICC) may be influenced by, or may influence, UNFCCC meetings. We analyze two decades of reporting on PICC in American, British, and Australian newspapers—looking at both volume and content of coverage—and expand the quantitative results with semi-structured interviews with journalists and Pacific stakeholders. Issue attention on PICC increases and the content changes significantly in the periods around UNFCCC meetings, with shifts from language about vulnerability outside of UNFCCC periods to language about agency and solutions. We explore the implications of these differences in coverage for both agenda setting and the amplification of emotional appeals in UNFCCC contexts.

scholarly journals Perspectives of artist–practitioners on the communication of climate change in the Pacific

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 323-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart Capstick ◽  
Sarah Hemstock ◽  
Ruci Senikula
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Pacific Islands ◽  
Climate Impacts ◽  
Climate Change Communication ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Change Communication ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Research Interviews ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This study aims to investigate the role of the visual arts for communicating climate change in the context of the Pacific islands, through the perspectives of artists and climate change practitioners. Design/methodology/approach As part of an “Eco Arts” project carried out in Fiji, semi-structured research interviews were undertaken with artists and climate change practitioners. Findings Participants’ motivations to produce art reflected their personal concerns about, and experiences of, climate change. There was an intention to use art-based approaches to raise awareness and promote action on climate change. The artwork produced drew on metaphors and storytelling to convey future climate impacts and aspects of climate change relevant to Fijian and Pacific communities. Research limitations/implications The study reports the perspectives of participants and discusses the potential uses of arts communication. Conclusions cannot be drawn from the findings regarding the effectiveness of specific artwork or of arts communication as a general approach. Practical implications The research offers suggestions for the inclusion of creative approaches to climate change communication within education and vocational training. A consideration of the perspectives of artist–practitioners has implications for the design and conduct of climate change communication. Social implications The involvement of artist–practitioners in the communication of climate change offers the potential for novel discussions and interpretations of climate change with individuals and within communities, which complement more formal or scientific communication. Originality/value The present study identifies the motivations and objectives of artist–practitioners involved in climate change communication. The authors highlight the role of personal experience and their use of artistic concepts and creative considerations pertinent to the geography and culture of the Pacific region.

Kava : A Challenge to Alcohol?

1987 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 41-53
Author(s):  
J.E. Cawte
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Islands ◽  
Aboriginal People ◽  
South Pacific ◽  
Pacific Region ◽  
Northern Australia ◽  
The South ◽  
Aboriginal Communities ◽  
North East ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Arnhem Land

Kava has been introduced into Aboriginal communities in Northern Australia. Persons from Yirrkala in North East Arnhem Land visiting the South Pacific region on study tours have been impressed by their welcome in Kava bowl ceremonies, and some of them hoped that the Aborigines might use Kava instead of alcohol.In 1983 many Aboriginal people in Arnhem Land used Kava, and much more was used in 1984. By 1985 it became a social epidemic or ‘craze’ in many communities. Rings of people of both sexes and of all ages often sit together under trees around Kava bowls for many hours. They may drink up to a hundred times the amount normally drunk in the Pacific Islands by the same number of people in the same time.

scholarly journals A Review of the Pacific Media Landscape: A Baseline Study

2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 270-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evangelia Papoutsaki ◽  
Verena Thomas ◽  
Heather Horst ◽  
Jo Tacchi ◽  
Jessica Noske-Turner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Capacity Building ◽  
Pacific Islands ◽  
Pacific Region ◽  
Digital Environment ◽  
Baseline Study ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Media Assistance ◽  
Media And Communication

This article draws upon the Pacific Media Assistance Scheme (PACMAS) State of Media and Communication Report to examine the implications of a changing media landscape for journalism practice in the Pacific region. The report contributes to an understanding of the diverse media and communications environments in the Pacific Islands (PI) region and captures aspects of the variations both in media, and in context, across and within the 14 Pacific Islands countries. This article highlights the need for synergies in the Pacific Islands to strengthen legislation, capacity-building initiatives and content production in a fast-changing digital environment.

scholarly journals The Role of Interocean Exchanges on Decadal Variations of the Meridional Heat Transport in the South Atlantic

2011 ◽  
Vol 41 (8) ◽  
pp. 1498-1511 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shenfu Dong ◽  
Silvia Garzoli ◽  
Molly Baringer
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Heat Transport ◽  
South Atlantic ◽  
Similar Response ◽  
The South ◽  
Meridional Heat Transport ◽  
Interior Region ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
The Indian Ocean

Abstract The interocean exchange of water from the South Atlantic with the Pacific and Indian Oceans is examined using the output from the ocean general circulation model for the Earth Simulator (OFES) during the period 1980–2006. The main objective of this paper is to investigate the role of the interocean exchanges in the variability of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) and its associated meridional heat transport (MHT) in the South Atlantic. The meridional heat transport from OFES shows a similar response to AMOC variations to that derived from observations: a 1 Sv (1 Sv ≡ 106 m3 s−1) increase in the AMOC strength would cause a 0.054 ± 0.003 PW increase in MHT at approximately 34°S. The main feature in the AMOC and MHT across 34°S is their increasing trends during the period 1980–93. Separating the transports into boundary currents and ocean interior regions indicates that the increase in transport comes from the ocean interior region, suggesting that it is important to monitor the ocean interior region to capture changes in the AMOC and MHT on decadal to longer time scales. The linear increase in the MHT from 1980 to 1993 is due to the increase in advective heat converged into the South Atlantic from the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Of the total increase in the heat convergence, about two-thirds is contributed by the Indian Ocean through the Agulhas Current system, suggesting that the warm-water route from the Indian Ocean plays a more important role in the northward-flowing water in the upper branch of the AMOC at 34°S during the study period.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document