Pacific and Pasifika Theses
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/4764
The theses listed in this collection were all completed at Massey University in a range of different departments and institutes. They have been included in this collection if the topic is strongly related to Pasifika/the Pacific.
Browse
46 results
Search Results
Item A study of non-commercial dairy farming systems in the Western Division of Fiji : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master in Agricultural Science in Farm Management at Massey University, New Zealand(Massey University, 1992) Richardson, Fiona JThe purpose of this study was to describe the smallholder dairy system(s) in the Western Division of Viti Levu. the largest island of Fiji. The role and contribution of non-commercial dairy cows to the income, nutrition and cultural well-being of Indian families in these systems was assessed. In common with such dairy systems elsewhere in the developing world there is a dearth of available information on the non-commercial dairy sector of Fiji. A Farming Systems Research (FSR) approach provided the framework for the field survey which was carried out in the Western Division of Fiji over an eight week period from February to March 1991. Nineteen farmers selected at random were interviewed for this study. These farmers together owned a total of 36 non- commercial dairy cows. Information was obtained from these farmers on their farming resources and operations and in particular, on the roles, production and reproductive performance of their cows. Using data from these farms and other limited secondary data which was available, a whole farm budget for a typical farm in the survey area was prepared, identifying the revenue and costs of commercial and subsistence crop enterprises and the two-cow system. For the 'typical' farm, the total net revenue from the combined crop enterprises (commercial and subsistence) was F$5433/year. with sugar cane providing the main source of income from the farm. The imputed net value of production from the two-cow system was estimated to be about 38% of the net crop revenue. Per capita consumption for Indian farm families of fat and protein from liquid milk were estimated to be 11,6kg and 10.5kg per year, respectively. Survey results show that liquid milk is a significant source of protein to these families. Farmers reported that if a cow was not owned a reduction in the nutritional welfare, health and income of the family would most likely occur. Longitudinal field studies in these smallholder farming systems are recommended to allow the essential dynamics of the livestock enterprises and the relationships between these enterprises, the cropping systems and the farmers' families to be established.. It is concluded from the field studies that non-commercial dairy cows make a significant contribution to the nutrition and economic and cultural well being of the families which keep them. and that these cows are maintained and produce using resources of low opportunity cost to the farm family. Key words: smallholder dairy systems. Farming Systems Research. Fiji agriculture, tropical dairy production.Item Selection for teaching in Tonga and Palmerston North, New Zealand : a paper presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education at Massey University(Massey University, 1986) Tongatio, Lesieli PelesikotiTeacher education in the Kingdom of Tonga has undergone many changes within the last two years. New directions in teacher development have included the introduction of a three-year diploma course for training primary and secondary teachers. This paper examines teacher selection processes used in Tonga in comparison with those used in Palmerston North. Section One introduces the paper by stating the concerns and the need for the study. A brief profile of Tonga Teachers' College and Palmerston North Teachers' College is presented. The research questions and the limitations of the study are stated. Section Two discusses the researcher's preparations for the research and describes her use of selected relevant literature on teacher selection and the techniques of questionnaire and interview. A brief note on the use of qualitative research methods is followed by a discussion of data gathering activities. In Section Three, the writer examines teacher selection processes used in Tonga by presenting responses to questionnaire and personal interviews as answers to the research questions. The same is done for Palmerston North Teachers' College in Section Four. Section Five presents the writer's discussion of each area investigated by means of the research questions. Following is a brief summary of the writer's conclusions to the study. The writer concluded that teacher selection processes in Tonga were not highly organised or structured, not extensive and not systematically conducted in comparison to selection processes used by Palmerston North Teachers' College. Tongan selection panelists were not well prepared and their functions not clearly identified or defined. Secondary students lacked adequate preparations before the selection interview and all sectors involved with teacher selection lacked co-ordination and clearly examined and stated criteria. Selection of teacher trainees in Tonga could benefit by co-operation between the various church education services and government to conduct a national selection programme whereby use of recruitment officers, vocational guidance counsellors and careers advisors would ensure that the best possible potential trainees are selected for teacher education; and, that this process should be highly organised, structured, extensive and systematically conducted. The section ends with a summary of the researcher's recommendations and final comments.Item New Zealand aid and the development of class in Tonga : an analysis of the banana rehabilitation scheme : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the degree of Master of Arts, Department of Sociology, Massey University(Massey University, 1988) Needs, Andrew PThis thesis examines the bilateral aid relationship between New Zealand and Tonga. Its central purpose is to examine the impact aid is having in transforming Tongan society. This involves a critique of both development theory and of New Zealand government aid principles. The understanding of development and the application of aid by the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs remains greatly influenced by the modernisation school of thought, which essentially blames certain supposed attributes of Third World peoples for their lack of development. Dependency theorists challenged this view, claiming that Third World poverty was a direct result of First World exploitation through the unequal exchange of commodities. This has had some influence on the use of aid as a developmental tool, but has failed to supercede modernisation theory as the dominant ideology. The theory of articulation of modes of production transcends the problems of both modernisation and dependency schools. Its main thrust is that the capitalist (First World) mode of production does not immediately dominate the non-capitalist (Third World) mode but rather interacts with it. Such a conception takes cognisance of the influence of indigenous modes in creating new social formations. This is demonstrated through an analysis of the New Zealand financed Banana Rehabilitation Scheme of Tonga. In order to understand the effect of New Zealand funded aid projects in Tonga, the Banana Rehabilitation Scheme, the largest project funded at present, was used as a case study. The research method demanded a fieldwork component which entailed three months in Tonga in order to collect both historical and archival data only available there. The main fieldwork component was a series of interviews with a cross section of scheme members and other significant actors related to the scheme. This study of the Banana Rehabilitation Scheme shows that the redistributive aims Of New Zealand aid have been undermined by a greater concern with productivity. Emphasis upon the latter has meant that the project has been reoriented in favour of giving greater assistance to those who can produce bananas most easily, those who already had access to land, capital and labour. This category of growers is as much a product of the indigenous social structure of Tonga as of forces impinging from outside. Although through the banana scheme large amounts of money are being pumped into the Tongan economy, its redistributive effects are minimal. The structure of the scheme is such that many of the major benefits accrue to the already advantaged.Item From the outside looking in : identity in selected Fijian short stories written in English : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements of a Master of Arts at Massey University(Massey University, 1999) Tuvuki, Sandra DawnConstruction of colonial identities in Fiji were built upon the premise of British superiority and difference from others, as they were in other parts of the colonised world. Colonial discourse regularly employed stereotypes to reduce other communities into simple and therefore controllable concepts. Fiji's post-colonial voices have had to write their ways out of these reduced roles and clear a space for representations of life in Fiji that differ from earlier elucidations. The body of writing which began to emerge in the 1960s is represented here by a selection of short stories by a number of authors writing from and about Fiji. The main focus here is on the ways identities which emerge from these stories pull the texts together into a definable body of writing, despite the diversity of writing positions, and despite some gender-based distinctions highlighted by Arlene Griffen and Shiasta Shameem. It is concluded that identities are more difficult to negotiate when outside opinions or forces are powerful. This observation is discussed in relation to the movement of characters from innocence to experience, the affect of progress on communities and individuals, the representation of women in the texts, and the position of individuals who travel to or from Fiji or who are descendants of migrants.Item An econometric analysis of the determinants of growth in the Kingdom of Tonga, 1970-1998 : a research thesis submitted in partial requirement for the degree of Master of Applied and International Economics at Massey University(Massey University, 1999) Faletau, Siosaia TupouThe importance of determining the factors that contribute to economic growth is vital in the case of Tonga because of the benefits and advantages it provides for the people and their future development. The main objective of this study is to analyse and investigate empirically the macroeconomic factors that promote economic growth and development in Tonga. Economic theories and various studies have presented the variables that may affect growth. These include investment (domestic and foreign), labour force, exports and imports, fiscal policies, tourism receipts, private remittances, foreign aid and its various components. Foreign resources such as aid and private remittances play an important role in the development of small island economies and Tonga's heavy reliance on these factors may also explain their contribution to growth. The study uses a neoclassical production function to examine the relationships between economic growth in Tonga and the proposed determinants listed above. The cointegration method of Auto-Regressive Distributed Lag is utilised in the analysis. The empirical evidence indicates that factors making a positive contribution to economic growth in Tonga are the growth in exports, tourism receipts, openness to trade, government consumption expenditure, bilateral aid, grant aid and imports. The loan aid, multilateral aid, technical co-operation grants and private remittances, while significant in most cases, show a decline over time. Natural disasters and external market shocks have a strong adverse effect on Tonga's growth rate. The issue of macroeconomic management is stressed in this study as the key role to be played by the government in order for the available resources to be allocated to the productive sectors of the economy. This can be undertaken through setting stable macroeconomic environment, introducing and maintaining growth-oriented policies and structural reforms in some of the key sectors of the economy. Research should be concentrated on high value niche products and promoting technological development to support the diversification in the export and tourism sectors. Measures should also be adopted to monitor the effectiveness of utilising foreign aid projects, as current aid flows show a decline.Item The ecology of the kākerōri (Rarotonga flycatcher) Pomarea dimidiata, with special reference to fledged young : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Ecology at Massey University(Massey University, 1993) Sanders, Kerry H.The Kakerori (Pomarea dimidiata) is a small flycatcher, endemic to Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. In August 1991 the total world population was estimated at 47 individuals, an increase of 14 birds from the previous year. Kakerori live in the forest canopy of small valleys in the steep, mountainous interior. This study concentrated on the ecology of young birds and factors affecting the breeding success (the number of fledged young produced) of pairs. Young birds remain in the parental territory for up to four months after fledging, where they are commonly found high in the leafy canopy (mean = 25.7m n=36). After parental care has ceased, young birds move to the high, exposed ridges up to 100m from their natal territories (mean = 87m n=14), and remain on average, 2.4m (n=14) from the ground. Successful Kakerori territories (those that have produced fledged young) have a relatively lowered canopy (10.3m) and few ferns (28.3%), with many juvenile trees (38.3%) and shrubs (33.4%) making up the shrub layer. These juvenile trees may ensure a continued closed canopy. Successful territories also have few, large trees (mean total basal area = 7.39m2) and a higher level of moss (16.5%) which may encourage larger populations of insects as well as providing possible nest sites for Kakerori. Unsuccessful territories (those that produced no fledged young) have many, immature trees (mean total basal area = 3.21 m2) and little moss (8.1%). In general, insect numbers varied little between successful and unsuccessful territories, however during February 1991 successful territories had a large percentage of flies (40.4% n=23) compared to unsuccessful (8.3% n=2). During February when adults are feeding newly fledged young, a greater availability of insects may positively affect breeding success. Poison baits for rats have been laid in the study area since 1988 and the number of fledged young found has increased from one in 1987/1988 to 14 in 1990/1991. The most effective method of conserving the Kakerori may be to continue indefinitely the rat-baiting campaign throughout the study area and neighbouring valleys. This would depend entirely on the availability of funds and committed personnel.Item Comparative study in the net barter terms of trade and income terms of trade of the Pacific Island economies : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business Studies in Economics at Massey University(Massey University, 1995) Soakai, Robert Matafonua FotuIt is suggested by the so-called P-S thesis that countries whose exports based upon traditional primary products will continue to face deterioration in their terms of trade. It is upon such a proclamation, that challenge the author to launched an investigation to the validity of such a claim and its applicability to the case of Solomon Islands, Tonga and Western Samoa. The early researcher in this area shows that countries whose exports dominate by exporting traditional primary commodities tend to have more instability in its terms of trade than those who are exporting manufactured goods. However one of the most staggering finding of this research is. The terms trade of the three island economies seem to be deteriorate, at same time their purchasing power seems to be on the positive side. What it means that, despite the deterioration in the country's terms of trade their incomes seem not deter at all by such a movement. This is sound controversial to the P-S thesis but there was other trade incentive that came in to play when these countries' terms of trade deteriorate. However, perhaps it is enough to mention here that such deterioration in the terms of trade might mean so little when one take into account major factors that hammered these small island's economies. Factors like, drought, hurricane, poor quarantine service, has fueled the problem of deterioration of the terms of trade. Empirical test was carried out to examine the impact of the Net Barter terms of trade movement on the income (Gross Domestic Products). Result revealed was un-intrigue. Conclusion was drawn and there is a strong need for change in the export haves of the three island economies. Policies need to change to encourage regional trading. A change to the trade agreement (e.g., SPARTECA) that govern the trade activities of the island nations, is necessary. Such a change will help the island nations to compete with its trading partners effectively and competatively.Item Beginning teaching : the recruitment, selection and expectations of trainee teachers in Tonga : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education in Education at Massey University(Massey University, 1984) Tongati'o, Lesieli PelesikotiIt has been over a hundred years since schools were established in Tonga, yet the Tonga Teachers' College is only forty years old. Thus teacher training is still in its early stages of development. Although there has been little change within the college over this period, it is moving towards growth and development in both its academic and professional capacities. The following thesis discusses the implications of teacher recruitment, selection and training within an education system aimed at raising the quality of its standard of education. Before attempting to discuss teacher education in Tonga, the social, political and physical contexts within which education operates, must be considered. These conditions have moulded the present form of teacher education. After considering these factors in Chapter Two, Chapter Three reviews the history of the Tonga Teachers' College, in relationship to Tongan social history, its aims and objectives, curriculum content, professional development, student intake and staff appointment. This chapter includes a comparative study of teacher education in some South Pacific countries in which similarities and differences in teacher education programmes and developments are discussed. General trends and methods are highlighted when comparisons and contrasts are made with teacher education in Tonga. In Chapter Four, the researcher considers teacher recruitment in Tonga. The writer proposes that teacher recruitment should be treated as an innovative means of improving the qualities of teacher trainees. Viewed from this perspective, new developments may be quickly and effectively implemented. Vocational preferences of senior secondary school students are examined to determine whether these students place teaching highly in their career priorities. Case studies of secondary school students and untrained teachers are compiled to discover the criteria used for the recruitment and selection of teachers and to provide in-depth information about these groups, from which teacher trainees are recruited. Chapter Five contains a discussion or the expectations which teacher trainees place on their training programme, followed by consideration of the methods of training and then finally discusses evaluations made of the training programme. Case studies of second year students at the Teachers' College and. of probationary assistant teachers are used to elaborate on the extent to which some of these expectations may or may not have been realised. Chapter Six contains the writer's reflections on some problems encountered with procedures and method carried out during the research project. This is followed by a concluding commentary on the results of the study and recommendations, aimed at improving teacher education in Tonga, are made.Item A study on the functional properties of taro starches from Tonga : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Technology in Food Technology at Massey University(Massey University, 1993) Havea, PalatasaThis study compared the functional properties of three taro starches extracted from selected cultivars, one from each of the three most commonly grown taro genera in Tonga. The selected cultivars were Alocasia macrorrhiza var 'Fohenga', Colocasia esculenta var 'Lau'ila', and Xanthosoma saggitifolium var 'Mahele'uli'. Cassava starch, a commercial product from Thailand, was studied together with the taro starches for comparison purposes. Freshly harvested taro corms/cormels were peeled, washed, ground into pulp. The taro pulp was washed with excess water and filtered with a cheese cloth. The solid pulp was discarded, and the water-starch mixture (starch milk) was collected in a settling tank. The starch was held for 10-24 hours to allow the starch to settle, and then the supernatant liquid was discarded. The Xanthosoma starch was successfully isolated using this method. For the Alocasia and Colocasia, the starch could not be isolated from the starch milk due to the presence of a mucilaginous material, and it was separated using a bowl centrifuge. The starches were dried, in a hot-air drier and then purified to remove trace of protein, fat, and fibre. All the taro starch granules were similarly polygonal in shape but the granule sizes were different. The Xanthosoma starch granule size (5-30μm) was similar to that of cassava starch granules (5-35μm). The granule sizes of Alocasia (0.5-3μm) and Colocasia (0.5-6μm) were very small, smaller than rice starch granules. The amylose contents, determined using an iodometric blue value colorimetry method, were 12.1, 13.6, 19.8, and 27.4% for Alocasia, Colocasia, cassava, and Xanthosoma starches respectively. The gelatinization temperatures for the starches were determined using sensory evaluation, hot stage microscopy, Brabender Amylograph, and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) methods. The gelatinization temperatures were approximately 69, 70, 75 and 80°C for cassava, Alocasia, Xanthosoma and Colocasia starches respectively. The gelatinization temperature ranges for Xanthosoma and Colocasia were similar to that of cassava starch, but Alocasia starch showed relatively wider temperature range. The viscosity of the Xanthosoma gelatinized starch paste was much higher than the other starches but showed greater breakdown on heating. The strengths of the starch gels were determined by measuring the rheological modulus G* of the gels using a Bohlin Rheometer, and the penetration strength test using an Instron. Both tests showed that the Xanthosoma starch produced a much stronger and higher viscosity gel than all of the cassava, Alocasia and Colocasia starches which produced gels with similar strength. The relative order of gel clarity from qualitative sensory evaluation, from highest to poorest clarity, was cassava, Xanthosoma, Colocasia, then Alocasia. The storage stability of the starch gels was evaluated by studying the crystallisation using DSC, and measuring the syneresis occurring during storage at 5 and 22°C. The Xanthosoma starch gel was extremely susceptible to crystallisation and syneresis during storage, compared with cassava, Colocasia, and Alocasia gels which had similar stabilities on storage. The freeze-thaw stability of the starch gels was studied by subjecting the starch gels to repeated freeze-thaw cycles. The Xanthosoma starch gel was extremely unstable with freeze-thaw treatment. The Alocasia and Colocasia starch gels were similar to cassava starch gel which was more stable with freeze-thaw treatment. The Xanthosoma starch, because of extremely high viscosity and gel strength, could be used in food products that need high viscous texture but require no further storage. The Colocasia and Alocasia starches, because of high digestibility due to very small granule sizes can be used in baby food formulations, which are either heat treated or frozen.Item Rotuma, a changing mobility, 1978-1983 : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Geography at Massey University(Massey University, 1985) Craddock, Christopher NoelThis work describes the changes in movement of people to and from Rotuma immediately before, and following, the establishment of an airport on the Island in May 1981. A sample survey was carried out during the middle of 1983 to gain field data. The dynamics of movement are investigated and the research examines whether any subsets within the Rotuman community had a higher or lower level of movement, by sex, age, religion, education or occupation during the period 1978-1983.
