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| Srl | Item |
| 1 |
ID:
095584
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| Publication |
2010.
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| Summary/Abstract |
This paper will explore social change in contemporary Samoan society with respect to the traditional expectations of the church and kinship conflicting with the modern needs of an urbanising population. In the Samoan way of life - the fa'aSamoa - religion, matai (chiefly system) and reciprocal 'gift-giving' kinship arrangements among the aiga (extended family) are fundamental and closely related elements. However, pressures from continued integration into the global economy, the importance of remittance income and related migration of well-educated and highly skilled Samoans overseas are presenting several challenges to the strongly held traditions of kinship and church obligations. Among these challenges, low-income households are increasingly placing the material well-being of the immediate household first, thus 'opting out' of the culturally defined primary obligation to the church and risk alienation from beneficial familial ties. As a result, settlement patterns are shifting towards leaseholds in urbanising Apia, with consequences, we will speculate, that may have deeper cultural implications. Our research revealed that the church has been slow to accept that, increasingly, Samoans are seeking relief from hardships that spirituality alone cannot address. However, given its influence, strengths and resources, the church is well positioned to take a lead role in facilitating opportunities for 'bottom-up', alternative development in Samoa, as well as providing lessons for church-led participatory approaches in the Pacific Island Region.
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| 2 |
ID:
152528
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| Summary/Abstract |
While ‘solutions’ to challenges of water supply in the Pacific may seem obvious to hydrologists, engineers and planners, their implementation may not be straightforward. Water is embedded in cultural, religious and political contexts, and what seems obvious to planners may seem neither obvious, nor acceptable, to citizens. However, these contexts change continuously, and opportunities arise for changes in narratives around ownership, supply and management of water. Citizens' beliefs about the state's ‘rights’ will vary with societal context, and will shape the ways in which ownership and management of water is worked out in specific locations. This paper outlines thinking and discourses around ownership and management of fresh water in Samoa, and the constraints which culture has imposed on water supply over time. Water discourses have shifted from questions about ownership of specific sources to general discussions about conservation and management of natural resources. This shift has resulted, in part, from the ways in which government has managed the process and, in part, from growing public awareness of water within the larger environmental context. The paper focuses on Samoan material, but some of the generic issues have wider significance in the Pacific because similar variables combine in similar ways.
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| 3 |
ID:
179197
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| Summary/Abstract |
Samoa's 2021 election has taken the country into uncharted waters. Three factors have created a perfect storm of events within a political environment marked by pockets of discontentment and heightened distrust of the HRPP government to produce the current outcome: the government's introduction of three controversial Bills into Parliament in early 2020, a vaguely drafted constitutional provision that is designed to increase women's participation in national politics and a knife-edge result of the election. Traditional ties provide the avenues for mediation and reconciliation and these might be utilised to resolve the current constitutional crisis and to overcome future dilemmas.
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