Development Studies
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/10564
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Item Development possibilities and customary land tenure in the Pacific : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies, Massey University(Massey University, 2007) Rockell, Dennis GrahamIn parts of Africa and the Pacific, the majority of land remains in customary tenure, perhaps in modified form. This thesis explores the question of whether it is possible to retain customary land tenure in a development context. Major development agencies such as the World Bank have, at times, placed pressure on developing countries to convert customary land into forms of tenure more compatible with boosting agricultural production. The Vanuatu constitution specified upon the nation's independence in 1980 that all land was to be returned to the custom owners. This thesis investigates how Vanuatu has grappled with the apparently conflicting objectives of customary tenure and economic development. An attempt was made to give the issue maximum possible focus by choosing the West Coast of Tanna Island as the location of study. Here, urbanisation and infrastructural development is attempted in surroundings where the majority of land has never been removed from customary tenure. The very small areas alienated during the colonial period have become the principal localities for such development. Must customary tenure or modernisation triumph, one over the other, or is it possible to achieve some of the benefits of modernisation without betraying the intent of the Vanuatu constitution? The thesis comes to no simple conclusion, but examines closely how this contradiction is unfolding and suggests that there are grounds for optimism, while noting the unrelenting nature of the forces for change.Item Is wantokism a form of social capital? : comparative study of two communities in Oro Province, PNG : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University(Massey University, 2007) Manuda, TonySocial capital is an important prerequisite for development however the form it assumes is one which has to be understood well by development practitioners. A lot of interest in social capital has been generated recently particularly in the Pacific as social relations in between people and various societal institutions in these islands are in many ways influenced by ethno linguistic affiliations. Only when these relationships between development agents and beneficiaries are understood in their local context can one truly appreciate it as a form of social capital. Hence, the term 'wantokism' which relates to social relations between people sharing similar ethno linguistic ties becomes an interesting topic of discussion in especially in the heterogeneous Melanesian countries of the Pacific. This subject is discussed in this thesis through comparing social relations between actors in two separate communities in Papua New Guinea. The Buna community school project and Kokoda hospital project in the Oro Province of Papua New Guinea are examples of projects that involved a wide variety of people from all sectors of the community. The Kokoda project funded jointly by the Papua New Guinea and Australian government under the Australian War Graves office was successfully completed and is fully operational while the Buna project funded by the Japanese government under its Japanese International Cooperation Agency program was not completed. In a society where trust and cooperation among wantoks is expected to a higher degree this research explores this issue in both this projects and whether or not the lack of it or abundance in one may have contributed to its failure or success. Through consultation with project board members, community members, provincial and district government personnel at both these locations this research raises the question of whether there is trust and cooperation between project boards and the wider community prior to and during the project work. More importantly it raises the question of whether there is trust and cooperation on the basis of wantokism. This thesis shows that the strong bonding social capital inherent in wantokism is clearly exemplified in both communities. However, there was minimal trust among board members and the local community, and a lack of bridging social capital in particularly Buna which affected its ability to access resources from outside sources. In contrast, there was a higher level of bridging social capital, and better trust and cooperation between board members and the local community at Kokoda. Drawing together from firstly, a theoretical analysis of social capital, ethnicity and wantokism and secondly, from qualitative and quantitative research in these two communities, it reaches conclusions about the extent to which wantokism could be a form of social capital.Item Fa'a Samoa : an aid to livelihood recovery following the Samoan tsunami? : a case study examining two Samoan villages : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand(Massey University, 2013) Murphy, Sandra JoyNatural disasters are destructive, traumatic and expensive. Costs associated with natural disasters are increasing, while simultaneously, there is a call to minimise or optimise development spending. With this in mind, this study examined the ways in which the cultural framework of Samoa, fa’a Samoa, influenced Samoan livelihood recovery following the 2009 tsunami. Fa’a Samoa is widely considered to consist of three major components, matai (chief), church, and aiga (family), supported by a variety of other factors including land, ceremonies, respect, service, love, hospitality and compassion. This research was undertaken through qualitative research, using critical case study analysis. Semi-structured interviews within an unaffected donor village, an affected village and with key informants provided primary data. The data was evaluated against the Samoan cultural framework, fa’a Samoa, using key themes such as Christianity, love, family, customary land, reciprocity and village governance to ascertain trends or attribute meaning. Research findings show that central to the recovery of Samoan communities following the tsunami, and their development in general, is fa’a Samoa. By drawing on fa’a Samoa, Samoan communities were able to recover their livelihood with the provision of less official assistance than would have otherwise been required. As a result, the principal conclusion of this thesis is that development should employ an approach in which the acknowledgement of cultural frameworks moves from desirable, to an essential requirement of policy and practice. Additionally, to aid livelihood recovery, non-affected communities should be called upon to provide assistance during the response and recovery phases and procedures should be put in place to enable families to connect with and help their affected kin.
