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1
Utanga, T. Alan T. "Contemporary coastal protection on Rarotonga, Cook Islands." Thesis, University of Canterbury. MacMillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies, 1996. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/4260.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis examines the effects of coastal protection structures upon the sandy
coastline of Rarotonga, Cook Islands. The coastline is surrounded by a fringing coral
reef which is continuous except for six passages. Water from the open sea enters the
lagoonal area by waves breaking over the roof and propagates towards the shore as
reformed waves. A detailed analysis of beach change and adjustments in front of and
adjacent to coastal protection structures is presented. While there has been a
substantial increase in data in the nearshore oceanographic regime and the nearshore
coastal zone on Rarotonga, generally there has been a lack of monitoring of coastal
structures, and in the effects on tropical coastal environments.
Five sites in the west and southern coast of Rarotonga were selected for monitoring.
All sites were located on sandy beach coastlines. An examination of the beach
sediment at each site by determination of settling velocities in a 2 metre water column
using a MacArthur Rapid Sediment Analyser indicated a medium grain size range.
This finding differs from earlier measurements for the Rarotongan Resort site when
predominantly coarse grain sediments were found. Such a finding has impact
implications for the stability of coastal sediments.
The principal method of data collection was by repeated profile surveys over a ten
week period between May and July 1995. The profiles were examined first, by the
conventional method of profile plots and secondly by excursion distance analysis. The
excursion distance analysis was used to examine temporal and spatial variations for
each site.
During the study period a storm of swells originating from a southern source area
brought unusually high waves in the seas around the Southern Cook Islands on the
8th and 9th June. All study sites were affected by up to 6 metre swells with energetic
wave periods in the range of 10-15 seconds. The impact of the swell storm helped
generate results for this study.
Five factors were noted from this study as important to the way the beach profile in
front and adjacent to coastal protection structures responded in the short term to the
incident coastal processes during the study period. These are the position of the
coastal protection structure in the beach profile, the structural configuration of the
coastal structure, how the structure is tied in with the land behind it, the seaward
volume of beach sediment and the sediment characteristic within the foreshore. Most
of the foreshore adjustment occurred in the lower and middle foreshore with
flattening and steepening respectively taking place during the high energy swell storm.
In the recovery period the profiles tended to broaden out.
A spatial analysis of the field data showed both along-shore and across-shore variations in the morphology of the beach and the topography of the lagoon floor. Movement of sediment in discrete amounts were identified in generally three positions
in the beach profile: lower foreshore, nearshore and the mid-lagoonal area.
Following the storms across-shore movement of sediment was identified, presumably
rehabilitating areas in front of the coastal structures. Overall it was observed that
beach change in front of coastal structures was similar to beaches without structures
if there is abundant sediment offshore. The erosional response to storms, however,
was typically different with bars forming offshore where coastal structures had been
established.
2
Horton, Philippa. "Determiners and complementizers in Cook Islands Maori." Connect to full text, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/5310.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Sydney, 2000.Title from title screen (viewed July 29, 2009) Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy to the Dept. of Linguistics, Faculty of Arts. Bibliography: leaves 185-189. Also available in print form.
3
Horan, Jane Catherine. "Tivaivai in the Cook Islands ceremonial economy : an analysis of value." Thesis, University of Auckland, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/2292/19380.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis is about tivaivai, which are unquilted quilts made and used by Cook Islands women in the Cook Islands ceremonial economy. They are the paramount form of valuable in ritual exchanges during kinship ���life��� events, and other public gifting events, which draw people together via translocal and transnational kin and wider social networks. How Cook Islands women use tivaivai as the gift and/or as decoration in these ceremonial arenas is part of the way Cook Islanders do economy as a local model of livelihood (Gudeman 2001, 2008). Such a model is founded on the material and nonmaterial aspects of the base, as in the priorities dictated by a group���s cultural framework. This is an expanded, more encompassing notion of economy, and necessarily moves beyond standard Western economic theory and the centrality of the market. I argue that tivaivai are semiotic media of value (Turner 2006b, 2008; cf. Graeber 2001), so they are iconic valuables, and indexical symbols of the structural properties of the Cook Islands system of social relations. As such weighted valuables, tivaivai are models of and models for how to be a Cook Islands woman and mother. As the gift and as decoration of ritual venues, tivaivai materialise the key values of kinship and aro���a (love) which orientate the way Cook Islanders exist and act in the world, so tivaivai are the access to and axis of prestige as mana for women. This relationship among value, values, and valuables is also important, because as such weighted valuables, tivaivai dignify the gifting of lesser valuables in a ritual complex, which is deployed in the various types of Cook Islands ceremonial events to transform people and objects. These lesser valuables include envelope wrapped money and food. I argue that the gifting of envelope wrapped money is as much about the reality of living in a capitalist political economy like New Zealand and the formulation of subaltern strategies to get by and prosper in New Zealand, as it is about the display of Cook Islands values, womanliness, mothering, and the pursuit of mana.
4
Gragg, Joan Elisabeth. "Seeing the funny side: focusing on Cook Islands humour in the experience of the religious pageant Nuku." AUT University, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10292/908.
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This multi-media art project investigates the notion of Cook Islands humour, and subsequently place, through the context of the religious pageant Nuku. This pageant has been practiced annually in the Cook Islands for over one hundred and sixty years. While it is not a pageant based on humour, I suggest, through experience and research, that many of the characteristics of Cook Islands humour are revealed in Nuku. The aim of this project is not to recreate the narrative set out in the Nuku pageant but to use this event to explore ways to visually express the humour of the Cook Islands. After researching and experimenting in two dimensional mediums, my emphasis changed to experimenting with three dimensional mediums, incorporating materials that have connotative meanings in Cook Islands society.
5
Chambers, Charlotte Nesta Louise. "Bounding the lagoon : spatialising practices and the politics of rahui, Tongareva, Cook Islands." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/29056.
Full textAbstract:
This research is an exploration of the politics and governance of resource use and environmental conservation in the geographical context of Tongareva – a remote atoll in the northern Cook Islands, eastern South Pacific – with a specific focus on the harvest of a species of giant clam, pasua (Tridacna maxima). The thesis examines a range of management practices, social relations and ecological conditions in order to demonstrate the socio-political-ecological nexus that produces pasua management on the island. Theoretically, the dissertation engages with recent debates around the social and the environmental as mutually constitutive domains, elaborating this relation by demonstrating that the use and conservation of pasua is negotiated in and through space. In particular, the thesis examines the complex interplay and co-constitution of so-called customary mechanisms for resource management by examining the politics surrounding the practice of rahui, a form of harvest closure. I explore how exchange networks, authority structures and economic changes intersect to determine and shape the politics of pasua harvest and rahui on Tongareva and place both the island and pasua in very specific ways. The research combines an analysis of oral ecological histories, key player interviews, participant observation along with findings from a comprehensive survey of pasua abundance and distribution in the lagoon. It pursues this combination of data collection not in order to use ecological ‘facts’ to verify social ‘beliefs’ but because it sees such knowledges as different but equally valid – if differently empowered – forms of resource knowledge. The dissertation also concludes that conservation in particular localities is never limited to events that occur in that context alone, but rather is connected to myriad other places by the movement of people, ideas and species.
6
Hoffmann, Kamila. "Professional development across the islands of the South Pacific : A qualitative study of blended learning facilitators in the Cook Islands." Thesis, Linköpings universitet, Institutionen för beteendevetenskap och lärande, 2014. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-117483.
Full textAbstract:
Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are having remarkable effects and promise potential solutions to many of the South Pacific islands’ geographic, economic and social challenges. Access to ICTs is also an increasingly important factor for education and training in the region. While the Pacific eLearning Observatory, supported by the University of the South Pacific, has been monitoring the development and access to ICT in education across the 12 university’s campuses, studies that specifically examine the attitudes and understanding of educators working on the islands of the South Pacific towards the use of ICT in their profession, as well as for their professional development, are rare. This study aims at addressing the gap in the literature by examining the professional development of facilitators working in blended learning environment across the remote islands of the Cook Islands. The research outcomes of this study are based on the analysis of in-depth, semi-structured interviews, and the theoretical foundation of this thesis is grounded in the social and situated theory of learning. By closely examining the facilitators’ perceptions, the project sheds new light on the still little recognised concept of online communities of practice in teaching and learning. The central finding of the study is that participation in online communities of practice offers on-going opportunities for learning, development and support, and reduces the feeling of remoteness and isolation associated with the geographical conditions of the South Pacific region.
7
Hermann, Upokoina Mataturua E. Te Au, and n/a. "The teaching of English as a second language in the Cook Islands : an analysis." University of Canberra. Education, 1993. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20060721.123442.
Full textAbstract:
The demands imposed on teachers who are L2 speakers of English,
in the Teaching of English as a Second Language (TESL) have had
far-reaching consequences. In these situations, the consequences are
compounded when the teacher is a L3 speaker of English teaching
English to students who are predominantly L2/L3 speakers. Such
consequences were explicitly stated in a number of reports, reviews
and observations (Elley, 1979; Chamberlain, 1987; Laws and Horsley,
1988; The Ministerial Taskforce, 1989) and others.
Issues relating to quality of education and quality of English teaching
were frequently addressed and questioned. The author's experience
as a teacher of English, Head of the English Department at
Titikaveka College and English Adviser for secondary schools led to
a growing concern and need to delve into these problems at both the
primary and secondary levels. In the absence of research in this
important area, the author sought to conduct investigation in four
schools. The author was further motivated to conduct research as a
result of a number of recent changes within the education system.
Major concerns were firstly, the introduction of the Grade 6 National
Examination in 1991; secondly, the change-over from the South
Pacific English Option paper to a full New Zealand English paper in
the New Zealand School Certificate (NZSC) Examination in 1989; and
finally, the introduction of the New Zealand Bursary Examination in
1992. The question foremost in the author's mind was how
adequately were the schools equipped to implement such changes
given an array of major constraints.
In this study, it is hypothesised that, most of the problems related to
TESL in the Cook Islands stem primarily, and mainly from the poor
quality of teachers in the classroom. This does not deny the
existence of problems which emanate from other factors which
impact on TESL, such as the language policy and curriculum, the
adequacy or inadequacy of teaching resources, and whether indeed
they are appropriate and the kinds of teaching methods which
prevail. These are all acknowledged as contributing factors. The
argument presented in this study, is that, while these are
contributing factors, they are considered not as important as the
teacher factor.
The thrust of this thesis recognises the teacher as the most important
classroom resource, the "key" factor which ultimately determines the
quality and indeed the success or failure of an education system.
This is true in the particular context of the Cook islands where
teaching-learning resources, by its broadest definition, are very
limited. In terms of the quality of the teacher's resourcefulness, this
in turn is determined by his/her level of education and the kind of
training received.
Underlying the thesis presented is the contention that if the teacher is
well-educated and highly-trained, then teaching and learning for the
child make the possibility of attaining Level IV, the highest stage in
Beeby's paradigm more likely. That is, teaching which stresses
meaning and understanding, problem solving and creativity and the
catering of individual differences (Beeby 1966: 72). Needless to say,
the converse is more likely to happen, where and when teachers
have had very limited education, inadequate and inappropriate
training.
In accordance with the purpose as outlined in Chapter 1, this study
comprises 6 chapters and a conclusion. Chapter 1 discusses the
nature of the problem from a number of interrelated dimensions,
which have to varying degrees impacted on the teaching of ESL in
the Cook Islands. The chapter concludes by stressing the purpose
and relevance of the study in terms of educational, economic and
social significance.
Chapter 2 reviews and discusses, from a historical perspective, the
literature as it relates firstly to the teaching of English in the Pacific
but more specifically the teaching of English in the Cook Islands.
The chapter then discusses the theoretical development and research
in the teaching and learning of ESL in an attempt to arrive at a
theoretical framework.
Chapter 3 presents the research instruments and procedures used to
gather and analyse the data. In the main, office sources, classroom
observations, questionnaires and interviews formed the basis for
eliciting data.
Chapter 4 draws together the major findings of the study. The
limited size of the sample placed some restrictions on the analysis of
results derived from this study. Nevertheless, the analysis identified
some significant trends upon which conclusions can be drawn.
The last two chapters, Chapter 5 and Chapter 6 deal with the
interpretative aspects of the study with the intention of arriving at
valid recommendations to the problems identified.
In summary, the study found that the teacher in the Cook Islands
context is the key factor in the process of teaching and learning of
ESL. When the teacher is well-educated and adequately trained, then
the possibility of quality teaching and meaningful learning becomes a
reality for the student.
8
Vougioukalou, Sofia Anthi. "Ethnomedicine and the dynamics of knowledge transmission and plant conservation in Atiu, Cook Islands." Thesis, University of Kent, 2008. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.498857.
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9
Allen, Melinda S. "Dynamic landscapes and human subsistence : archaeological investigations on Aitutaki Island, southern Cook Oslands /." Thesis, Connect to this title online; UW restricted, 1992. http://hdl.handle.net/1773/6437.
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10
George, Kay. "Evolving patterns of identity: a visual response to observations of Cook Islands' women and their adornment." AUT University, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10292/915.
Full textAbstract:
This multimedia visual arts project investigates, from a personal perspective, changes in the context of Cook Islands’ women’s adornment. In a modern world, changes in adornment have become disconnected from cultural traditions and so this study explores how over time evolving patterns of adornment are employed by women to identify their place in society. Observations have been drawn from the developing relationship between the researcher and the women in Rarotonga, the Cook Islands’ community where this project took place. These observations are documented explored and articulated primarily through the medium of photography, and principally by way of the snapshot and the portrait. This examination of Cook Islands’ women and their adornment from traditional adornment to the contemporary influences of modern day fashion has further been explored through a visual response to the relationships between the women and the layers of their adornment. This visual arts project is compromised of an exegesis with a value of 20% and a practical component of 80%.
11
McCall, Robert A. "Biological, geographical and geological factors influencing biodiversity on islands." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1997. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.244625.
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12
Simhon, Shlomo Saul. "Islands of reliability for hybrid topological-metric mapping." Thesis, McGill University, 1998. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=20864.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis describes a method for mapping unknown large scale static environments using a hybrid of topological and metric representations. A global map is formed from a set of local maps for sub-regions of the environments. Each local map contains quantitative environment information used to define a local reference frame. These maps are referred to as islands of reliability because they are associated with the sub-regions whose local structure is best matched to the sensors we are using. The connectivity of these islands is represented topologically. The key mapping problem we consider is where to place the islands of reliability and to what extent they should cover the environment. This is accomplished by defining the placement criteria in terms of the task to be satisfied and the uncertainties of the mapping agent. Islands are distributed about the environment at areas suitable for extracting metric information relevant to a localization task.
13
rinder, Singh Narinder Singh. "Water scarcity in the Maltese Islands : geopolitics and management issues." Thesis, Durham University, 1997. http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/4721/.
Full textAbstract:
The Maltese Islands have a history of water resource problems. A high proportion of the Maltese population has suffered over the past few years from water scarcity caused mainly by: (a) a shortage in water production and escalating water demands; (b) rising salinity levels in groundwater and tap water; (c) an undersized and deteriorating distribution system; and (d) increasing levels of groundwater pollution. There is a spatial variation in the intensity of these problems. They are greatest in the south of Malta and it has been suggested that this is due to geopolitical, as well as social, economic and physical, factors. This inequity in water supply has, for many years, been blamed on the politicisation of water. The causes of the water problems are presented and the problems, themselves, are analysed. The link between the water problems and the politicisation of water and conflicts over water resources, is established and discussed. Finally, solutions, through water management and future planned developments, are presented. Social and geopolitical information was gathered mainly through qualitative interviews with water consumers, water suppliers, decision makers, academics and members of non-Governmental organisations, in Malta. Quantitative data on hydrology and the entire water management system was collected and analysed. An extensive literary search to support the physical, social, economic and geopolitical aspects of the research and to obtain legal information, was also undertaken. In conclusion, although the water problems have been enhanced by unsustainable management, they are a part of a wider geopolitical problem, especially the inequitable water supply. In particular, settlements with an affiliation to the political party in Government are better supplied than settlements that support the Opposition. In addition, water conflicts, at all scales, arise due to water scarcity and a lack or absence of water sharing regulations and, of course, human nature.
14
Drumm, Darrin Jared, and n/a. "Habitats and macroinvertebrate fauna of the reef-top of Rarotonga, Cook Islands : implications for fisheries and conservation management." University of Otago. Department of Marine Science, 2005. http://adt.otago.ac.nz./public/adt-NZDU20060901.134208.
Full textAbstract:
Throughout the Pacific, many species of echinoderms and molluscs have cultural value and are harvested extensively in subsistence fisheries. Many of these species are sedentary and often associated with distinct reef-top habitats. Despite the significance of reef habitats and their fauna for fisheries and biodiversity etc, little information has been available on the distribution of habitats and their influence on the reef-top fauna in the Cook Islands. This thesis developed a novel approach to assess the status of the shallow-water reef-tops of Rarotonga, Cook Islands, to provide critical information to fisheries and conservation managers. The approach used remote sensing (aerial photography with ground truthing) to map the spatial arrangement and extent of the entire reef-top habitats accurately, and historical wind data and coastline shape to determine the windward and leeward sides of the island. The benthic habitat maps and degree of wind exposure were used to design and undertake a stratified sampling programme to assess the distribution and abundance of the epibenthic macroinvertebrate fauna of the reef-top. I quantified the distribution and abundance of the epibenthic macroinvertebrates and how they varied with habitat, assessed the effectiveness of a traditional ra�ui (marine protected area) for conserving stocks of Trochus niloticus and other invertebrates, and investigated the reproductive biology and impacts of traditional gonad harvesting on Holothuria leucospilota.
There were four major habitat types (rubble/rock, sand/coral matrix, algal rim and sand) identified, the most extensive being rubble/rock (45%) and sand/coral matrix (35%). The degree of exposure to winds was found to correlate with the reef development and habitat distribution.
The assemblage composition of each major habitat type differed significantly from every other habitat. The rubble/rock habitat had the greatest substratum heterogeneity and structural complexity, and the highest number of species and individuals. The overall abundance of the fauna was dominated by holothurians (68%) and echinoids (30%), while Trochus niloticus and Tridacna maxima accounted for the remaining 2% of the total invertebrate assemblage. Clear habitat partitioning was also found for adult and juvenile Trochus niloticus and Tridacna maxima.
In the traditional fishery for Holothuria leucospilota, the mature gonads of males are harvested by making an incision in the body-wall of the animal, removing the gonads and then returning the animal to the reef to allow regeneration. Monthly collections of H. leucospilota were used to describe the reproductive biology of this species. Gametogenesis and spawning were synchronous between the sexes and spawning occurred annually during summer, when water temperature and photoperiod were at their highest. Although the incision in the body-wall and gonad removal had no impact on the survival of H.leucospilota in experimental cages, their body weight, and general sheltering and feeding behaviors were affected. Gonads took at least 41 days to start regenerating, suggesting a considerable delay in the spawning of fished individuals.
In 1998, five Rarotongan communities re-introduced the traditional ra�ui system of resource management, prohibiting all fishing and gathering from their reefs. The performance of the Nikao ra�ui, which had been put in place to allow trochus stocks to increase, was investigated. Comparisons of macroinvertebrate assemblage composition and species density were made between three fishing treatments, i.e. fished areas adjacent to the ra�ui, within the ra�ui after two years of protection, and in the ra�ui after it had been lifted for three weeks to allow a commercial trochus harvest. Analysis of variance on the count data for the twelve most abundant species, and non-metric multi-dimensional scaling indicated that there were no differences in the microhabitat or the invertebrate assemblage composition between the three fishing treatments. However, there were significant differences between the rubble/rock and sand/coral matrix habitat types. The results on the effectiveness of the Nikao ra�ui are equivocal, due to the small sample size, and the variability between samples which was highlighted by the wide confidence intervals.
This study highlights the importance of habitat to the macroinvertebrate fauna of the reef-top and the need for accurate habitat maps to increase the cost-effectiveness of future resource surveys, to provide information to management, and for the design of Marine Protected Areas. The mapping and survey methods must be reliable and repeatable in terms of the limitations of time, and the availability of expertise, funding and resources. The results provide important information for fisheries and conservation managers of Rarotonga and other Pacific Islands to better design rigorous sampling programmes for monitoring the status of reef-top resources, and for evaluating and planning Marine Protected Areas.
15
Barcham, Manuhuia. "State, society and development in the Pacific : analysing structural adjustment in the Cook Islands and Papua New Guinea." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Department of Political Science, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/4261.
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16
Schembri, John Andrew. "Coastal land use in the Maltese Islands : a description and appraisal." Thesis, Durham University, 2003. http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/4417/.
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The area of the Maltese Islands is 316 km , and with an official coastal length of 180 km(^2) possess a high ratio of coastal length to area. The physical properties of the coast include a highly indented and largely accessible coastline having a low sloping profile, on the north, east and south-east littoral of Malta, presenting inlets, bays and deep harbours. Most of the recreational, industrial and coastal residential areas are situated around these areas together with a wide range of fortifications and military defensive structures built as part of the coastal defensive network of Malta over the last five centuries. In contrast, the other parts of the coast, including Gozo, consists of a largely inaccessible coastline made up of cliffs and boulder scree slopes with the few indentations marking sandy beaches. These areas have a high aesthetic quality. The rapid pace of development over last half-century has witnessed an economic transformation from an economy based on British military spending to one based on the development of coastal areas for marine-related services, tourism and residential and second-home development. Coastal land use conflicts have intensified with economic development and as people have sought to make a more use of the coast. This thesis is concerned with the evaluation of the coastal land use in the Maltese Islands. A historical overview of the coast is first presented, then a methodology for the mapping, surveying and estimation of the land uses along the coastal zone of the Maltese Islands is developed. This is based on a number of coastal field surveys that the author participated in between 1989 and 1998. The coastal zone was divided into sixteen segments and mapping is covered by sixteen land uses. The main results were that coastal development was centred in areas where a high natural coastal indentation and good physical accessibility of the coast were present, these, in turn, gave rise to land use conflict. In addition, civil engineering works and modifications such as rock-cutting, jetties, breakwaters and, in densely populated areas, promenades, intensified land use conflict. A notable difference in the type of coastal development processes to the north (tourism) and south (industry) of the Great Fault is evident. The thesis also includes the part played by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority in influencing coastal land uses, the main land use modifications proposed in the European Union accession talks and a brief assessment of the land use situation in selected localities in 2003.
17
Parkes, Annette. "Holocene environments and vegetational change on four Polynesian islands." Thesis, University of Hull, 1994. http://hydra.hull.ac.uk/resources/hull:5716.
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The specific research objectives of this study are: to look at environmental changes that have occurred on several Pacific island systems from the pre- to post-settlement periods; to see whether the observed changes are natural or anthropogenic; to test the latest Polynesian settlement theory; and to contribute to the understanding of the vegetation history on these islands. This study reports the results of stratigraphic investigations from four Polynesian sediment sequences. The sediments of Lakes Lanoto'o (Upolu), Roto (Atiu), Temae (Mo'orea) and Vaihiria (Tahiti) have revealed a history of environmental and vegetational change during the Holocene, which include long-term climatic variations affecting broad scale vegetation changes on Upolu and Atiu; long term sea-level change influencing the local environment and vegetation on Atiu; localised disruption of vegetation in the Vaihiria basin of Tahiti resulting from natural landslides; and finally, major changes in local environment due to human activity, evident on all of the islands. Records from Lake Lanoto'o and Lake Roto extend into the early Holocene and span both pre- and post-settlement periods, with the latter providing a continuous vegetation record from around 9000 yr BP. Sequences from Lakes Temae and Vaihiria originated in the late Holocene; the Temae record also spans the estimated period of Polynesian expansion into the Society Islands and, consequently provides some insight into the nature of indigenous floras. Modifications attributed to human activity were recognised in the Lanoto'o catchment from 2425±70 yr BP (512 BC). Initial settlement of the Lake Roto basin has been dated from 1420±45 yr BP (AD 640), while a 1210±90 yr BP (AD 790) record of human influence has been determined from the Mo'orea sequence. Fossil pollen records indicate that Polynesian settlers modified the natural vegetation and encouraged the growth of open scrub and fernlands. However, declines in several primary forest plants, previously associated with anthropogenic deforestation, appear to have resulted from natural causes during pre-settlement times. The presence of coconut pollen in two of the lake sequences, dated at -8600 yr BP in Atiu and prior to 1400 yr BP in Mo'orea, strongly suggests that the dispersal of this palm was by natural, as opposed to human agents, in contrast to previous theories. The Polynesian settlement date for Atiu, which is earlier than any previous archaeological records, is in conflict with the views behind the "Orthodox Scenario" of prehistoric settlement, and necessitates a re-think of this theory.
18
Sandercombe, Simone. "The marine record of abrupt climate change at Bay of Islands, Newfoundland." Thesis, McGill University, 2012. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=106339.
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This study assesses vegetational response to abrupt climatic changes that occurred between ca. 12,000 and 8,000 yr BP using a palynological record from Bay of Islands (west coast of Newfoundland). Western Newfoundland is located near the boundary of two major ecozones: the boreal forest and the tundra. This transition zone is very sensitive to climate change. Core MD99-2225 was extracted from Humber Arm at a depth of 104m, roughly 12km from the Humber River. Samples were analysed every 10cm between 10 and 25 m down-core. Pollen analysis was used to track the evolution of vegetation, and the proportions of both tundra and more thermophilous hardwood taxa were used to determine changes in ecotone. The pollen record was also used to reconstruct air temperatures. The dinoflagellate cyst record was used to reconstruct sea surface parameters, such as temperature, salinity and sea ice. Results reflect large shifts in the composition of the vegetation and of dinoflagellate cysts assemblages in response to three cold climatic events. At the onset of the Younger Dryas, air temperatures dropped by 5°C from -15°C in February and 16 °C in August, August SST dropped by 10°C from roughly 15°C, and the duration of the sea ice cover increased to 10 months yr-1. Conditions remained harsh between ca. 10,800-10,300 yr BP, Vegetation was dominated by shrubs and grasses and dinoflagellate cyst assemblages are characterized by low species diversity and dominance by arctic species, such as Brigantedinium spp. Sea surface and air temperatures improved following after the Younger Dryas. At ca. 9,000 yr BP, sea surface conditions and air temperatures decreased in the bay as a response to the Preboreal Oscillation. Shrubs and grasses re-invaded the region and dinoflagellate cyst assemblages showed a decrease in diversity and dominance by arctic species such as Brigantedinium spp. The last event to be detected in this record, the 8.2 ka cold period, had a smaller impact in the region. Sea surface temperatures as well as air temperature decreased, but for a short time. The proportion of shrub pollen increased slightly and cold water species (Brigantedinium spp., I. minutum and P. dalei) dominated the dinoflagellate cyst assemblages.Cette étude évalue la réponse de la végétation aux changements climatiques abrupts survenus entre 12,000 and 8000 ans BP, en utilisant un enregistrement palynologique de Bay of Islands sur la côte ouest de Terre Neuve. Cette région est à la frontière entre deux écozones majeures: la forêt boréale et la toundra. Cette zone de transition est très sensible aux changements climatiques. La carotte MD99-2225 a été prélevée à une profondeur de 104 m à environ 12 km de la rivière Humber. Des échantillons ont été analysés à intervalles de 10cm entre 10 et 25 m de profondeur dans la carotte. L'analyse pollinique a permis de retracer l'évolution de la végétation, et les proportions de taxons caractéristiques de la toundra et celles des arbres plus thermophiles ont servis à déterminer les changements d'écotones. Les données polliniques ont aussi permis de reconstituer les températures. L'enregistrement des kystes de dinoflagellés a permis de reconstituer les paramètres des eaux de surface, tels que la température, la salinité et la durée du couvert de glace saisonnier. Les résultats montrent d'importants changements dans la composition de la végétation et dans les assemblages de kystes de dinoflagellés, en réponse à trois épisodes de refroidissement climatiques. Au début du Dryas récent, les températures de l`air qui étaient de -15°C en février et de 16°C en août ont chuté de 5°C. Les températures des eaux de surface qui étaient de 15°C ont également chuté de 10°C, et la durée saisonnière du couvert de glace marin a augmenté pour atteindre 10 mois/an. Les conditions sont demeurées très froides entre environ 10800-10300 yr BP. La végétation était dominée par des arbustes et des plantes herbacées. Les assemblages de kystes de dinoflagellés étaient caractérisés par une faible diversité spécifique et une dominance par les taxons arctiques. Les températures de l'air et des eaux de surface se sont améliorées après le Dryas récent. Autour de 9000 yr BP, une autre détérioration climatique a été enregistrée en réponse à l'oscillation PréBoréale. Les arbustes et les plantes herbacées ont de nouveau envahi la région et les assemblages de kystes de dinoflagellés ont connu une baisse de diversité et une augmentation de la proportion de taxons arctiques. Le dernier événement climatique détecté dans cet enregistrement, le refroidissement de 8.2 ka, a eu un impact moindre. Les températures de l'air et des eaux de surfaces ont connues une baisse, mais pour un lapse de temps très court. La proportion de pollen d'arbustes a augmenté légèrement, de même que celles des espèces indicatrices de conditions d'eaux de surface froides (Brigantedinium spp., I. minutum and P. dalei).
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Igarashi, Yuriko. "Subsistence activities of prehistoric Polynesians : Analyses of shell artifacts and shell remains excavated at prehistoric sites on Mangaia, Cook Islands." 京都大学 (Kyoto University), 1999. http://hdl.handle.net/2433/86282.
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Hudson, Alan Christopher. "Globalization, regulation and geography : the development of the Bahamas and the Cayman Islands offshore financial centres." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 1996. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.360016.
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Everard, Cyril. "The Isles of Scilly and the Channel Islands : "bench-mark" hydrographic and geodetic surveys 1689-1980." Thesis, Queen Mary, University of London, 2004. http://qmro.qmul.ac.uk/xmlui/handle/123456789/1838.
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The English Channel has been both a major maritime artery and a navigator's nightmare for many centuries. Two archipelagoes, the Isles of Scilly to the north and the Channel Islands to the south, have been and remain major hazards. The two archipelagos have long cartographic histories which have yet to be fully documented. The present study is, with two limited exceptions, confined to British official hydrographic surveys and more specifically to those that may be regarded as 'bench-mark' surveys , i. e. surveys that made significant advances in 44& charting the two archipelagoes. The study is further restricted to describing and assessing the progressive attempts to fix accurately the latitudes and longitudes of the two archipelagos and their relationships to west Cornwall on the one hand and the Cotentin peninsula on the other. The emphasis is upon the MS charts, Remark Books and notes etc. of the surveyors. The earliest survey discussed here is that of the Isles of Scilly by Capt Collins in 1689, published in 1693 in his Great Britain's Coasting Pilot, followed by Tovey and Ginver (1731), Robert Heath (1744/1750), Graeme Spence (1792-c1812) Joseph Huddart (1795); Ordnance Survey (Mudge: 1796; Clarke 1858; 1959). The first Channel Islands official hydrographic survey was initiated by Capt Martin White, as late as 1803, but not officially recognised until 1812 and not published until 1824/6; other surveys mentioned are Carte de France (1818-45; ) Begat (1829); Beck (1942-3); Service Hydrographique (1948); Ordnance Survey (1980).
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Friesen, Wardlow. "Labour mobility and economic transformation in Solomon Islands: lusim Choiseul, bae kam baek moa?" Thesis, University of Auckland, 1986. http://hdl.handle.net/2292/2442.
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This thesis examines the relationship of labour mobility and socioeconomic transformation in the Solomon Islands, and proposes that one cannot be understood in isolation from the other. Explanation is pursued both at the levels of structure and of agency, and integration of these levels is attempted in some places. This is discussed in the first part of the thesis, within a general discussion of issues of theory and method. The second part of the thesis deals with the structural parameters of labour mobility. Through the twentieth century, the institutions of government, mission and capitalist enterprise have been central in shaping the Solomon Islands social formation. The roles of these formal institutions with implications for labour mobility have ranged from purveyors of ideology to employers of labour. Another major element in the social formation is an original Melanesian mode of production which influences labour mobility through village-level institutions such as the land tenure system, kinship, and household operation. Labour circulation is a major factor in linking village and non-village institutions, and more abstractly in articulating two different modes of production. The third part of the thesis considers the ways in which individual agency operates within structure. The data base are life histories and related information from the Mbambatana language group on the island of Choiseul. This is integrated with national, regional and village-level structural information. Education is important in the way it 'selects' individuals for certain kinds of employment. This selection process occurs within the wage economy generally, but is further refined within institutions of employment. This results in labour mobility 'streams' which have identifiable characteristics related to gender, education, and employment type. Movements within each 'stream' have typical temporal and spatial characteristics. Patterns of labour mobility, especially sequence, are affected by gender and life cycle factors. For men and women the most critical changes take place in the 20s age span, but individual behaviour varies according to marriage and childrearing patterns. From a village perspective, labour circulation is a logical response to the necessity of operating within two different economic systems typified by different modes of production. This process of articulation is manifest in other ways as well, and households or families may adopt different strategies in operating within two different systems. The particular strategy adopted depends on the labour power available, degree of access to land, and employment possibilities of individual members.
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Salmond, Jacqueline L. "THE SOCIAL RELATIONS OF TOURISM ON THE PERHENTIAN ISLANDS." UKnowledge, 2010. http://uknowledge.uky.edu/gradschool_diss/2.
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In recent years there has been an increase in the adoption of tourism as an economic strategy in many developing nations and a growing interest in how communities and individuals engage with tourism. This parallels research which aims to uncover alternative readings of community participation in forms of economic and social development. This research uses tourism as a lens to understand the economic subjectivity of communities engaged in tourism. Focusing on how the local populations understand, experience and participate in tourism, it paints a picture of the Perhentian Islands which challenges existing understandings of individual and community participation in tourism. The research is broadly framed as a post-development project which highlights the grass-roots and bottom-up nature of small-scale developments and focuses on the ways in which local populations are actively engaged with tourism. It draws attention to the role played by discourse and subjectivity in constructing and reframing understandings of the individual within tourism development. Such discursive constructs can be actively co-opted as a political tool to empower individuals and communities by reconstructing understandings of local engagement in tourism. By recreating understandings of community engagement with tourism, it becomes possible to create new subjectivities outside of the framework of hegemonic capital.
The methodology for this project incorporated participatory action research methods in order to facilitate community benefit through the research process. Research techniques involved both quantitative and qualitative methods in a number of settings. Ethnographic methods involving participant observation and in-depth interviews were complemented with focus groups, and property surveys. Research focused on key themes which were areas of interest identified by community members as well as questions which explored individual motivations for tourism work. In this situation, a number of motivations for engagement with tourism employment emerged. The individuals were actively seeking their employment, rather than passively accepting tourism from a limited number of choices. There were also similarities between hosts and guests which emerged, challenging the usual binary construction.
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Wikel, Geoffrey L. "Variability in Geologic Framework and Shoreline Change: Assateague and Wallops Islands, Eastern Shore of Virginia." W&M ScholarWorks, 2008. https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd/1539617877.
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Eddy, Brian G. "A GIS-based fuzzy logic method for mineral potential mapping: An experiment with a geological map of the Parry Islands, Northwest Territories, Canada." Thesis, University of Ottawa (Canada), 1996. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/9837.
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The application of fuzzy logic in a GIS framework is a valuable method to assist in mineral resource assessments (MRA) in areas where data are sparse. This study uses a digital geological map, backed by a digital geological data model, derived from published legends and reports. Together they function as a 'spatial-attribute relational data model' that provides evidence, in the form of derivative maps, to support mineral potential according to deposit model criteria. A knowledge-base is created with fuzzy membership functions linked to the classes of each derivative map that indicate favourability between geological features present in the database with those required by model criteria. A fuzzy-logic-based 'inference net', as implemented in the GIS modelling language, is used to combine spatial evidence to determine mineral resource potential for three mineral deposit sub-types: (1) MVT Pb-Zn, (2) Sedimentary Cu and (3) Sediment-Hosted Sulphides. This method is shown to be valuable for providing an 'audit trial' for the complex decision-making process associated with resource assessment; it provides a means for experimenting and testing various hypotheses and viewpoints associated with mineral deposit models, and mimics some aspect of how geologists determine mineral potential for a region using information provided in geological maps and mineral deposit model literature.
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Ferdinand, Idelia. "Mainstreaming disaster risk reduction into community development in the Windward Islands." Thesis, Northumbria University, 2013. http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/14837/.
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The Windward Islands are vulnerable to a number of natural hazards. This thesis examines the possibilities for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) in the Windward Islands. The Windward Islands offer a special case of “Island Vulnerability”. Island vulnerability is essentially defined as an increased probability in disaster events against what would be expected if vulnerability were to be measured against international levels of poverty, defined as Gross National Product per capita. There are three reasons for this namely the topography of islands, the site characteristics and the socio-economic setting. The topography is one where islands, largely of volcanic or coral origins, face multi-hazard experience particularly from flooding and storm surge. The site issue is that islands usually have a high ratio of coastline to land mass implying a relatively higher exposure to extreme events. The socio-economic conditions are peculiar to island including isolation, mono-agriculture and mono-industry essentially laid down by colonial experience, an absence of formal employment opportunities and weak capacity in local governance including the absence of NGOs. Though DRR has evolved over the last 20 years, some islands and communities remain more vulnerable than others. This research investigates the mainstreaming of DRR in the Windward Islands of Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines. The key issue researched was whether DRR could be effectively implemented at the community level. To address this issue, the research investigates the vulnerability and capacity of communities to hazards in the Windward Islands and suggests ways to reduce risk and build community resilience. The factors affecting vulnerability and capacity to hazards in the Anglophone Windward Islands were identified as a means of determining how to reduce risks and build resilience to hazards in the Windward Islands. Efforts to enhance community development and build resilience are not effective as they fail to address fully community needs. This research concluded that some communities are more vulnerable than others and a major contributor to their vulnerability is poverty. None of the methods used in this research are unique to island vulnerability analysis as they have been applied elsewhere in DRR. What is unique is the scoping of the application of these methods to gain an overview of DRR possibilities. What emerges as a conclusion is the limited impact of top down interventions, especially those interventions that try to address poverty alleviation to lower risk. This is essentially because the poor themselves barricade their own coping mechanisms against external interventions, thus building a wall against external help. Building on local organisational capacity, including religious groups, can help address this problem. Research in this area is limited for the Anglophone Windward Islands and this thesis on vulnerability of household and communities will contribute to knowledge in this field.
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Harwood, Joseph Walter IV. "Delineation and GIS Mapping of Urban Heat Islands Using Landsat TM Imagery." Kent State University / OhioLINK, 2008. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1208562366.
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Paul, Bence Timothy. "A new perspective on melt inclusions : development of novel in-situ analytical protocols /." Connect to thesis, 2006. http://eprints.unimelb.edu.au/archive/00002977.
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Sperandio, Elisa. "SETTING THE STAGE: RESIDENT EXPERIENCES WITH ENFORCEMENT, RESCUE AND SPECTACLE IN LAMPEDUSA." UKnowledge, 2019. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/geography_etds/61.
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Located 127 miles from the shores of Sicily and only 70 from Tunisia, the island of Lampedusa is home to a population of 6000. Residents are largely reliant on a centuries-old fishing economy, a booming tourism industry and, most recently, the sustainment of a complex apparatus of border enforcement. Since the early 2000s, with the hardening of the southern border of Italy and the European Union, a multitude of actors have converged to Lampedusa: from migrants, to agents of enforcement, to NGO personnel, along with journalists, researchers and tourists. In this thesis, I center the experiences of island residents to analyze the daily, lived dimensions of Lampedusa becoming a key site for the externalization of enforcement and the production of a border spectacle depicting “migration crisis.” Employing ethnographic methods and drawing from literature in feminist geopolitics, critical border studies and spatial theory, this approach looks beyond the nation state to discuss the everyday construction of borders and geopolitics. In doing so, I focus on the contested and relational nature of bordering on the island, highlighting some of the contradictions and inconsistencies of discourses and policies rooted in the premise of sudden emergency in the Mediterranean.
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Benedicto, Royuela Jose. "Foresight scenario building and multi-criteria appraisal to inform sustainable development in small islands." Thesis, Brunel University, 2014. http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/8846.
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This thesis is the result of applying a novel methodology which I labelled ‘participative foresight scenario mapping’. This methodology couples participatory methods for building holistic foresight scenarios for sustainable development in Flores Island (Azores, Portugal) with a multi-criteria appraisal method, Multi-criteria mapping (Stirling, 1997), to assess these scenarios alongside five sector based regional scenarios (Secretaria Regional do Ambiente e do Mar, 2006). The main research question was to reflect on how small isolated societies, which have a distant relation with strategic decision-making centres, can define their transitions to sustainability. Small islands represent interesting cases to reflect on sustainability, these small territories distant from main decision-making centres challenge decision-making and require a consideration of the issues of scale. Islands have also been seen as small, manageable models of the world, providing the opportunity to explore innovative solutions at a scale that allows inclusion of as many different factors as possible. Small islands’ populations are especially linked to their island and they develop, by the effects of isolation, a strong particular relation to the place, the role of identity is then crucial in fostering sustainable practices adapted to the island. A succession of individual scoping interviews with twenty four regional and local decision-makers and key informants and seven focus groups with a total of thirty local lay citizens gave me the opportunity to develop two differentiated multi-sector scenarios for Flores Island which were identified as Standard and Balanced development scenarios. The Balanced development scenario reflects a desire to develop an island that bases its economy on greater self-sufficiency for agricultural products, quality and certified products, and natural conservation and valorisation. The Standard development scenario is based on economic growth through tourism and primary sector intensification, and public investment in infrastructures; this scenario can be summarized as the continuation of the actual model of development. The appraisal of both holistic narratives allows in depth exploration of the complex issues related to sustainability, such as the preference between weak and strong sustainability, that otherwise would have been too difficult to assess by such a variety of research participants. Working with holistic scenarios raised the limits of the capacity to show proficiency in a wide variety of fields. The research demonstrated the feasibility of applying the multi-criteria mapping method to support the analysis of holistic non-technical scenarios. The combination of qualitative and quantitative data brought depth to the analysis and improved the understanding of the desired sustainable futures in islands. But the quantitative appraisal was overshadowed by strong uncertainties that made difficult the identification of a best scenario. Uncertainty was explained by the risks inherent to the scenarios, the limited expertise in all the criteria, the complexity of the holistic scenarios, the time horizon (20 years), doubts on the effective implementation of the chosen scenario, and the existence of potentially disrupting external factors. The process was also the opportunity to understand the role that social capital might play in the transition to the desired future for this island. It is shown in the thesis that a successful transition to sustainable development can only be reached if the objectives are understood and shared by the population.
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Guyot-Tephany, Josselin. "Protéger la nature à l'ère de l'anthropocène : Géo-graphies de l'archipel des Galapagos (Equateur)." Thesis, Limoges, 2019. http://www.theses.fr/2019LIMO0022/document.
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La présente thèse a pour ambition d’interroger les fondements de la protection de la nature à l’ère de l’anthropocène. Le postulat de départ est que l’incapacité à répondre aux enjeux écologiques reflète les contradictions de l’ontologie naturaliste, laquelle s’est imposée comme la conception hégémonique des rapports entre humains et non humains (Descola 2005). L’argumentaire repose sur une analyse critique des politiquesdéveloppées dans un territoire emblématique du naturalisme : l’archipel des Galapagos (Équateur). Lieu fondateur des sciences naturelles, il représente l’archétype le plus abouti des figures, elles-mêmes archétypales, de l’île-laboratoire et de l’île-conservatoire. Il abrite depuis 1959 un parc national couvrant 97% des terres émergées et depuis 1998 une réserve marine parmi les plus vastes au monde. Archipel tropical le mieux conservé du monde, c’est aussi celui qui connaît la dégradation écologique la plus rapide (Snell et al. 2002). Les territoires protégés ont servi de support au développement d’un tourisme de naturequi a enclenché une intégration croissante des îles à l’économie-monde et au reste de l’espace équatorien, rompant ainsi brutalement l’isolement géographique qui garantissait leur intégrité écologique (Grenier 2000). Le tourisme a surtout été le moteur d’une croissance économique et démographique ayant engendré une rapide anthropisation des enclaves peuplées et une profonde transformation de l’espace archipélagique. Bref, les Galapagos représentent un condensé, dans le temps et l’espace, des logiques ayant conduit à entrer dans anthropocène.La thèse propose d’aborder, à travers l’exemple des Galapagos, les enjeux environnementaux de notre époque par une approche renouvelée de la géographie. Fondée comme la science des relations entre les sociétés et leur environnement, cette discipline a été une victime tardive du grand partage entre Nature et Culture se matérialisant actuellement, à propos des questions environnementales, par un tiraillement entre une géographie naturaliste et une géographie du naturalisme. Le présent travail esquisse une voie alternative à ce dualisme en posant les bases d’une géo-graphie de l’anthropocène, c’est-à-dire une étude conjointe des empreintes humaines sur terre et des récits que les acteurs et les sociétés construisent autour de celles-ci. La première partie traite successivement du rôle des territoires insulaires dans l’émergence et l’évolution des politiques de conservation, de la progressive naturalisation des Galapagos et du cadre théorique et méthodologique qui a guidé l’analyse. La deuxième partie montre comment l’ouverture géographique impulsée par l’essor du tourisme de nature a propulsé l’archipel dans l’anthropocène, mettant ainsi à l’épreuve le modèle conservationniste. La dernière partie s’intéresse à la manière dont la nature et le fait insulaire participent à l’affirmation d’un sentiment identitaire (Ospina Peralta 2001) et à des logiques multiformes et multiscalaires l’insularisation entraînant une archipellisation des GalapagosThe emergence of the conservation movement in the late XIXth century in North America turned natural protected areas into a privileged tool for preserving the living. Designed in the first place as islands of nature shielded from human hold,they were progressively integrated in the 1970s to global environmental policies aiming at reconciling conservation and development. Such a dynamics both led to the increase and diversification of protected areas. However, until now, the development of those structures did not prevent from stopping the reduction of biodiversity, a paradoxical situation that isapplying to all the ecological issues. In spite of a strong global environmental consciousness and an increase of actions, measures and environment-oriented policies, we would have entered into a new epoch characterized by the general and irreversible mark of human activities on the earth : the Anthropocene (Crutzen et Stoermer 2000).This thesis aims at questioning the foundations of nature protection in the Anthropocene era. The starting postulate is that the incapacity to meet environmental issues reflects the contradictions of the naturalist ontology which stood out as thehegemonic conception of the relationships between humans and non-humans (Descola 2005). The argumentation is based on a critical analysis of the policies developed in a territory which is quite emblematic of naturalism, i.e. the Galapagos Archipelago in Ecuador. Being a founding place of natural sciences, it represents the most accomplished archetype of the figures (themselves very archetypical) of the laboratory-island or theconservatory-island. Since 1959, the Galapagos have been sheltering national park covering 97% of the land areas and since 1998 a marine reserve, which is among the largest in the world. As the best-preserved tropical archipelago on earth, it also is the place where the environment deteriorates most rapidly (Snell et al. 2002). The protected areas were used to develop a nature-based tourism leading to an increasing integration of the islands to the world-economy and the rest of the Ecuadorian territory, thus breaking up brutally the geographical isolation that was securing their ecological integrity (ibid.). Above all, tourism was the driving force of the demographic and economic growth, which led to a quick anthropization of populated enclaves and a deep change of the archipelago’s space. In other words, the Galapagos can be seen as a concentrate, in time and space, of the logics leading to the Anthropocene.Through the example of the Galapagos, the thesis deals with the environmental issues of our epoch in order to propose a renewed approach of geography. This discipline, originally founded as the science of the relationships between societies and their environment, was later victim of the great share between Nature and Culture, whichpresently expresses itself by conflicts between a naturalist geography and a geography about naturalism. The present research suggest an alternative way to such a dualism and sets down the bases of a geography of the Anthropocene, i.e. a joint study of the human marks on the earth and the narratives that stakeholders and societies produce about them. The first part successively tackles the role played by insular territories in building conservation policies, the progressive naturalization of the Galapagos and the theoretical and methodological framework conducting our analysis. The second part deals with the way the geographical opening threw the archipelago into the Anthropocene, thus challenging conservation policies. The third part shows how nature and the insular issues pertain to multiform and multiscalar logics, leading to the archipelization of the Galapagos
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Richardson, Paul Benjamin. "At the edge of the nation : the Southern Kuril Islands and the search for Russia's national destiny." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2011. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/1623/.
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In post-Soviet Russia, the destiny of the Southern Kuril Islands has been used by the political and intellectual elite to define and contest ideas of national identity. From the early 1990s these islands became a symbolic territory for elite groups attempting to define what kind of state the Russian Federation should become. The various geographical visions projected onto these islands are part of a struggle between elite groups to define national values and to claim the state for their own political ends. However, such visions are not smoothly inscribed onto these islands. Instead, any idea of state, nation and homeland is negotiated, contested and inflected at every geographical scale. The debates over these islands expose a deep tension over the political control of space in the Russian Far East and beyond. It is suggested that these islands are a kind of ‘hyper-border’: a site which is distant, and at times even beyond the state’s control, yet at the same time can be instantaneously linked to the destiny of the entire country. It is a term intended to capture the struggles, contestations and unequal power relations inherent in the ideological process of constructing national space and identity.
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Cochran, Nancy E. "Detection of Urban Heat Islands in the Great Lakes Region with GLOBE Student Surface Temperature Measurements." University of Toledo / OhioLINK, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1418421488.
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Kellar, Debra Meridith Mokaren. "The Examination of Vehicle Related Flood Fatalities in the United State, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the U.S. territories of the Virgin Islands and Guam: 1995-2005." Kent State University / OhioLINK, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1290537007.
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Schwebel, Michael Bryan. "Climate change adaptation and policy in Pacific small island states| Safe havens or adrift at sea?" Thesis, Temple University, 2015. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3703089.
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Pacific Small Island States (PSIS) are in the precarious position as some of the first jurisdictions to grapple with the current and forecasted effects of climate change, such as forced migrations and loss of culture. Yet, islanders' viewpoints are neither often fully understood nor heeded by those at the international decision making levels. Therefore, how and to what extent are PSIS successfully preparing for climate change?
This completed study used a mixed methods approach that examines nissology — how islanders view and understand themselves — and its relationship with successful (discussed and defined within the study) adaptation planning. The study also used a mixed methods approach to juxtapose the findings of the nissological and success analyses with a second research question: an in-depth study and analysis of regional and global policymaking entities, and the degrees to which they may influence islanders' preparation for climate change.
The study examined 18 PSIS and their Climate Change Adaptation Plans (CCAPs) and then interviewed PSIS' representatives at their respective Missions to the United Nations in New York City to evaluate how PSIS view and foresee current and future policies regarding climate change at the global, regional, and local levels. Then, fieldwork was performed within the United States Territories in the Pacific: American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands to obtain on-the-ground information regarding implementation of plans, policies, and projects.
The study attempted to address two specific gaps in the literature via the triangulation of methods and data: the relationship between an island-centric viewpoint of CCAPs and successful climate change as well as how policymaking in the Pacific at the local, regional, and global levels either assisted or hindered successful climate change adaptation policy.
The results suggested answers to these two key questions as well as several unexpected or emergent findings. Regarding the two principal research questions, PSIS that crafted their CCAPs in a more nissological or island-centric manner were indicative of states that were foreseen to be more successful in adapting to current and future climate change effects. Next, PSIS that were part of AOSIS, the various regional associations, and those PSIS that had complete sovereignty (independent) were indicative of those PSIS expressing greater overall success at preparing for climate change than those PSIS not meeting these criteria. However, not all PSIS had the opportunity to become members of AOSIS or certain regional organizations for various reasons.
Finally, a policy document was created at the end of the study to illustrate some of the best practices based upon this study's findings. Immediately preceding the policy document are other emergent findings indicative of future areas of research and exploration within the realms of nissology, regional associations and partnerships, and successful climate change adaptation.
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Marsters, Teuvirihei Helene. "Beach stability on a tropical uplifted coral atoll : Niue Island : a thesis submitted to the Victoria University of Wellington in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of of Science (Hons) in Physical Geography /." ResearchArchive@Victoria e-Thesis, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10063/1216.
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Davis, Brittany Y. "Angling for Inclusion: Marine Conservation, Livelihoods, Local Knowledge, and Tourism on Utila, Honduras." Diss., The University of Arizona, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/333221.
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Over the past two decades, developing countries have recognized the economic value of attractive marine resources and the need to actively protect these resources. Many of these conservation projects rely on limiting extractive activities to protect habitats, which restricts local livelihoods, and promoting marine resource-based tourism to provide financing for conservation. Using a political ecology framework, this dissertation investigates two connected aspects of tourism and conservation: tourists' seafood consumption and the Go Blue Central America, a geotourism project initiated by National Geographic. It also explains the value of considering the local environmental knowledge of a diverse group of resource users, with a specific focus on professional scuba divers. Given the importance of scuba diving as an activity and tourism attractor on Utila, professional scuba divers on the island are well-positioned to serve as a source of environmental knowledge data on Utila's dive sites, including on their condition, species sightings, and changes over time. This knowledge is not without its problems as it may lead to conceptions of local participation that fail to include those actually from the community of concern. Thus, this dissertation calls attention to the possibilities of using divers' environmental knowledge in conservation and environmental management while also remaining attuned to the potential complications that may arise from doing so. Ultimately, this dissertation calls for the development of additional tourism alternatives and more comprehensive tourism planning and management which includes the potential for damage done by nonextractive resource users. For Utila, this will entail altering existing business practices to increase local ownership, shifting away from backpacker and budget oriented tourism toward a more expensive product, and involving more of the local community in the decision-making processes which affect tourism and the environment.
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Puna, Repeta. "Ko Marouna te toa the effects of the Cook Islands public sector reform on the delivery of education : a thesis submitted to Auckland University of Technology in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy (MPhil), 2008." Click here to access this resource online, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10292/415.
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The effects of the public sector reform impacted on all aspects of public services including the performance of the economy. Central to this argument was the re-organization of the operations of the public service from the traditional administration system to the new public management (NPM). Education, a critical service in any economy was not spared. Literatures around the application of NPM (a derivative of market principles and practices) to education (which was value based) suggested that NPM was dangerous for education and could deplete the value system of education and replace that with a focus on accounting for money by individuals who were self-interested and who would seek to maximize their benefit with guile. Arguments against NPM suggested that the human factor was neglected and that education had led to chaos among professionals, stakeholders and students. However, those who argued for the introduction of NPM suggested that it had made the provision of education more efficient, effective and relevant to the needs to the clients. It held those working in the education sector accountable for the resources used and made the system more responsive to the needs of the clients of education. Education in the Cook Islands experienced many changes since western type education was introduced by the Missionaries in the late 1800s. Cook Islands people have always regarded education as a right and also believed their participation in education would improve their lives as well as positively contribute to economic growth. As the public sector reform was a global phenomenon, the currents of NPM also converged on the Cook Islands and affected the delivery of education. Those changes revolutionalized education in ways that was not commonplace in the Cook Islands. However, professionals and stakeholders within education made the most of the system and diverged some of the practices to suit the need, the environment and the culture of the Cook Islands people. Change also refocused education from teachers teaching to student learning reinforcing the dedication of many teachers and education administrators to ensure NPM served the best interest of their clients; the students, despite the workload placed on them. The challenge in this thesis was to understand how the NPM system affected education and how the Cook Islands education professionals worked within the system in their favour. The stories of teachers and Ministry of Education professionals demonstrated that there was no resistance to the application of NPM system in the Cook Islands. In fact, the system was embraced by the education sector suggesting it was a positive change from their previous system of traditional administration. Much of their system was inherited from New Zealand where the environment, layers of bureaucracy and economic status of the country was different. Instead, it appeared the Cook Islands took much of what others deemed as dangerous for education and turned it into a positive opportunity for the Cook Islands education. This thesis presents the story of the revolution in the Cook Island education system.
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Iro, Elizabeth. "The leadership experience of first line nurse managers working in the Cook Islands a qualitative descriptive study : a thesis submitted to Auckland University of Technology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Health Science (MHSc), 2007 /." Click here to acces resource online, 2007. http://aut.researchgateway.ac.nz/handle/10292/79.
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Thesis (MHSc--Health Science) -- AUT University, 2007.Includes bibliographical references. Also held in print (xi, 107 leaves : ill. ; 30 cm.) in North Shore Campus Theses Collection (T 610.73099623 IRO)
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Donoho, Emily S. "Appeasing the saint in the loch and the physician in the asylum : the historical geography of insanity in the Scottish Highlands and Islands, from the early modern to Victorian eras." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 2012. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/3315/.
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This thesis examines the historical geography of lunacy in the Scottish Highlands and Islands. Using a wide variety of sources, the objective is to construct an expansive picture of the manner in which those labelled as “mad” were treated and managed in this peripheral region of mainland Britain, from the Medieval Period to the late-Victorian period. The scope includes Medieval Celtic manuscripts, nineteenth-century folklore collections, Lunacy Commissioners’ reports, Sheriff Court records, asylum case notes and various other documents besides. These sources open windows on a variety of vocabularies, writings, stories and proclamations through which madness was socially constructed, and then substantively treated, in this remotest of regions. In effect, the thesis sets regional folklore, as a way of accessing the “traditional” worlds of Highland madness from the “bottom-up”, in counterpoint to the likes of Lunacy Commissioners reports, as an instance of the “modernising” of these worlds through medical-institutional means from the “top-down”. The interlocking binaries here are to an extent then scrambled by exploring different dimensions of this interaction between “bottom-up” and “top-down”, charting continuities as well as breaks in attitudes and practices, and thereby constructing a tangled picture of how the Highlands have come to tackle this most challenging of human conditions. The account that follows is thoroughly informed by the historical, social and spatial context of the Highlands, always recognising that madness and its responses must be seen as indelibly placed, contextually shaped and ‘read’ through the region. While the historiography of madness and psychiatry has already considered the Scottish Lowlands experience from various angles, the Highlands have remained all but untouched and their archives unopened. This thesis begins the task of addressing this serious lacuna.
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Ebanks, Davin K. "Blue Meridian: The Portraiture of Landscape." Kent State University / OhioLINK, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1272900119.
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Miller, Sonja. "A quantitative assessment of Ra'ui (a traditional approach to marine protected areas) on the fishes and invertebrates of Rarotonga, Cook Islands : a thesis submitted to the Victoria University of Wellington in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Marine Biology /." ResearchArchive@Victoria e-Thesis, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10063/819.
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Hsu, Li-Chih. "VISUALIZING BARRIER DUNE TOPOGRAPHIC STATE SPACE AND INFERENCE OF RESILIENCE PROPERTIES." UKnowledge, 2019. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/geography_etds/63.
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The linkage between barrier island morphologies and dune topographies, vegetation, and biogeomorphic feedbacks, has been examined. The two-fold stability domain (i.e., overwash-resisting and overwash-reinforcing stability domains) model from case studies in a couple of islands along the Georgia Bight and Virginia coast has been proposed to examine the resilience properties in the barrier dune systems. Thus, there is a need to examine geographic variations in the dune topography among and within islands. Meanwhile, previous studies just analyzed and compared dune topographies based on transect-based point elevations or dune crest elevations; therefore, it is necessary to further examine dune topography in terms of multiple patterns and processes across scales.
In this dissertation, I develop and deploy a cross-scale data model developed from resilience theory to represent and compare dune topographies across twelve islands over approximately 2,050 kilometers of the US southeastern Atlantic coast. Three sets of topographic variables were employed to summarize the cross-scale structure of topography (elevational statistics, patch indices, and the continuous surface properties). These metrics differed in their degree of spatial explicitness, their level of measurement, and association with patch or gradient paradigms. Topographic metrics were derived from digital elevation models (DEMs) of dune topographies constructed from airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR). These topographic metrics were used to construct dune topographic state space to investigate and visualize the cross-scale structure of dune topography.
This study investigated (1) dune topography and landscape similarity among barrier islands in different barrier island morphologic contexts, (2) the differences in barrier island dune topographies and their resilience properties across large geographic extents, and (3) how geomorphic and biogeomorphic processes are related to resilience prosperities.
The findings are summarized below. First, dune topography varies according to island morphologies of the Virginia coast; however, local controls (such as human modification of the shore or shoreline accretion and erosion) also play an important role in shaping dune topographies. Compared with tide-dominated islands, wave-dominated islands exhibited more convergence in dune topographies. Second, the dune landscapes of the Virginia Barrier Islands have a poorly consistent spatial structure, along with strong collinearity among elevational variables and landscape indices, which reflects the rapid retreat and erosion along the coast. The dune landscapes of the Georgia Bight have a more consistent spatial structure and a greater dimensionality in state space. Thus, the weaker multicollinearity and higher dimensionality in the dataset reflect their potential for resilience. Last, islands of different elevations may have similar dune topography characteristics due to the difference in resistance and resilience. Notwithstanding the geographic variability in geomorphic and biogeomorphic processes, convergence in dune topography exists, which is evidenced by the response curves of the topographic metrics that are correlated with both axes.
This work demonstrates the usefulness of different representations of dune topography by cross-scale data modeling. Also, the two existing models of barrier island dune states were integrated to form a conceptual model that illuminates different, but complementary, resilience properties in the barrier dune system. The differences in dune topographies and resilience properties were detected in state space, and this information offers guidance for future study’s field site selections.
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Russell, Jr Scot Allan. "Analysis of Fresh Water Resources at the Line Hole Well Field, San Salvador Island, the Bahamas." TopSCHOLAR®, 2010. http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/164.
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A major economic constraint in the Bahamas, and other small carbonates islands world-wide, is the lack of fresh water resources. To combat these socio-economic problems on San Salvador Island I sought to gain a more detailed understanding of the extent, behavior, and controls on the island’s fresh-water lens. DC electrical resistivity tomography and time-series geochemical data are used to study the fresh water lens at the Line Hole well field. Electrical Resistivity profiles are used to image the extent of fresh water resources. Time-series geochemical data provide information on the behavior of the fresh water resources as a function of time.
The inversion models of the electrical resistivity profiles illustrate a fresh water lens less than 3 meters thick on average. The mixing zone is diffuse in nature, and substantially thicker than the fresh water lens. The geochemical results corroborate the fresh water lens dimensions predicted by the electrical resistivity model. In addition, mixed semi-diurnal and spring/neap tidal cycles are the primary control on the water level. Statistical analysis of specific conductance and temperature illustrate a positive and negative correlation with water level, respectively. Analysis of precipitation with respect to water level and geochemistry indicate low effective recharge rates during the period of study.
The current state of the water resources at the Line Hole well field is strained. Despite moderate levels of freshening since the termination of pumping in December 2006; the system continues to be in a state of disequilibrium. The problem is compounded by abnormal thickening of the mixing zone due to communication of the well field with the ocean, and a limited volume of fresh water. In conclusion, the two techniques used in conjunction provide a non-invasive method of estimating fresh water resources in this type of setting. Conversely, the high RMS and L2 values for the electrical resistivity models and limited time-series data create a high level of uncertainty in the interpretation of results.
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Dominguez, Segarra Miriam. "Classificació d’imatges de satèl·lit i de dades LiDAR aplicat a l’anàlisi del paisatge d’El Hierro (illes Canàries)." Doctoral thesis, Universitat de Barcelona, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/666245.
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La tesi titulada “Classificació d’imatges de satèl·lit i de les dades Lidar aplicat a l’anàlisi del paisatge d’El Hierro”, té per objectiu principal analitzar els canvis de les cobertes del sòl utilitzant diferents satèl·lits i les dades Lidar. Inicialment s’han fet les correccions geomètriques i radiomètriques. Per la primera s’han aplicat les transformacions de polinòmiques de segon i tercer grau. Les correccions radiomètriques han estat de dos tipus: les atmosfèriques i les topogràfiques. El mètode de l’objecte fosc de Chavez (1989) ha estat calculat per la correcció atmosfèrica. En aquest estudi s’han utilitzat dos mètodes de correcció topogràfica: la correcció empiricoestadística de Teillet i la correcció C, la darrera ha afegit un factor que ha ajustat més les reflectàncies a les reals per cada banda. A continuació s’han obtingut mapes de les cobertes de l’illa d’El Hierro amb el classificador per nombre dels veïns més propers (kNN) amb imatges dels satèl·lits: l’SPOT-5 HRG de l’any 2006, el GeoEye-1 (GE-1) de l’any 2011 i el Sentinel-2 MSI (S-2) de l’any 2016. També s’han calculat l’índex de vegetació (NDVI), el Model Digital de l’Altura de la Cobertura Vegetal (MDACV) i els filtres de millora: Sharpen i majority. La tercera part ha estat la comparativa del patró del paisatge utilitzant els índexs, on s’ha observat els canvis produïts a les classificacions de les imatges dels diversos sensors. Els índexs de paisatge calculats han estat: àrea total, densitat de marge, nombre de taques, riquesa de taques, densitat de la riquesa de taques, la mitjana de proximitat i índex de Shannon. Els resultats de la classificació han estat un nivell d’encert del 80% de l’SPOT-5, entre el 78 – 83% el Sentinel-2 i entre 60-75% el GeoEye-1. Segons els índexs de paisatge, la fragmentació ha estat més destacada als mapes del GeoEye-1. La classificació del S-2 ha presentat més nombres de fragments que la classificació de l’SPOT-5 per què hi ha un canvi de la resolució espectral de les dues imatges. Per últim, el MDACV ha mostrat diferències entre els individus de Juniperus turbinata Guss. vells i els joves de 4 metres d’altura. L’estudi del paisatge d’El Hierro a través de la classificació d’imatge de satèl·lit i de les dades Lidar és recomanable amb les imatges Sentinel-2 perquè la resolució espacial de 10 metres i la resolució espectral de la precisió de les bandes del visible i infraroig faciliten s’ajusten més al patró paisatgístic de l’illa.The thesis "Satellite images and data Lidar classification applied to the analysis of the landscape of El Hierro” its main objective is to analyse the changes in coverings using different satellites and Lidar data. Initially geometric and radiometric corrections have been made. For the first, the transformations of second and third degree polynomials have been applied. Radiometric corrections had been two types: atmospheric and topographic. The dark object’s method has been calculated to atmospheric correction. Two methods of topographic correction have been used in this study: the empirical-statistical correction of Teillet and correction C, the last one adding a factor that has more adjusted the reflections to the real ones for each band. Next, maps of the covers of the island of El Hierro have been obtained with the classifier by number of the nearest neighbours (kNN) with images of the satellites: the SPOT-5 HRG of the year 2006, the GeoEye-1 (GE-1) of the year 2011 and Sentinel-2 MSI (S-2) of the year 2016. The vegetation index (NDVI), the Height of the Vegetal Cover Digital Model (HVCDM) and improvement filters: sharpening and majority. The third part has been the comparison of the landscape model using the changes produced in the classifications of the images of the various sensors. The calculated landscape indices has been: total area, edge density, numbers of patch, richness of patch, density of the richness patch, proximity average and Shannon index. The results of the classification have been overall accuracy of 80% of SPOT-5, between 78 – 83% of Sentinel-2 and 60-75% of GeoEye-1. According to the landscape indices, the fragmentation has been more prominent in the maps of GeoEye-1. The classification of the S-2 has presented more numbers of patch than the SPOT-5 classification because there is a change in the spectral resolution of the two images. Finally, the HVCDM has shown differences between the old and young individuals of Juniperus turbinata Guss. of 4 meters high. The study of the landscape of El Hierro is recommended through the classification of satellite images and the data of LiDAR with the Sentinel-2 images because the precision of the spatial resolution of the visible and infrared bands has been better for representation of the landscape pattern of the island.
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Maio, Maria Melquiades Costa. "Ilhas de alto padrão: o caso do Parque dos Príncipes e da Vila São Francisco - SP (1970-2008)." Universidade de São Paulo, 2010. http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/8/8136/tde-30042010-094759/.
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Este trabalho em Geografia Urbana enfoca a produção de ilhas de alto padrão de moradia na metrópole paulistana. Trata-se do estudo dos casos do Parque dos Príncipes e da Vila São Francisco; lugares caracterizados por significativo processo de segregação socioespacial voluntária: loteamentos destinados às frações de classe social com elevado poder aquisitivo, cercados por muros. Objetiva-se identificar os principais agentes responsáveis pela produção do espaço urbano nos lugares estudados; analisar suas atuações e entender, no espaço e no tempo, as causas da escolha da sub-região oeste da Região Metropolitana de São Paulo (RMSP), para a implantação desse tipo de modelo habitacional. Para tanto, considerou-se o espaço como um sistema indissociável de objetos e de ações (SANTOS, 2003), o espaço urbano como fragmentado, articulado e conflituoso (CORRÊA, 2003), bem como a metrópole paulistana como sendo corporativa e fragmentada (SANTOS,1990). Como resultado final foi possível a identificação dos proprietários fundiários (Família Matarazzo e outros), dos promotores e incorporadores imobiliários (Camargo Corrêa, Gafisa, Godoi, Rodobens, Setin), do Estado e das associações de moradores (APRPP, ARPPO, ACCSF, SACSF), como principais agentes produtores da atual configuração dos lugares investigados. Todos se organizam Cada um a sua maneira, ora conflitando ora concordando entre si e corroboram para a produção da lógica da metrópole corporativa, inclusive com remoção de favelas e privatização de espaços públicos via fechamento de ruas e uso exclusivo de praças e parques.This urban geography research focuses on the production of islands of high standard of housing in the metropolis of São Paulo. it is the study of cases of Princes Park and the village of San Francisco; places characterized by a significant process of voluntary spatial segregation; allotments, surrounded by walls, made for people with social standard and high purchasing power, surrounded by walls.The purpose is to identify the main causative agent witch is responsible for the production of the urban space at the specified places; analyze their actions and understand, at space and in time, the reasons for choosing the western sub-region of the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo (MASP) to implement this type of housing model. For the development of this idea, we considered the space as an indivisible system of objects and actions (Santos, 2003), urban space as fragmented, articulated and confrontational (Corrêa, 2003, as well as the São Paulo metropolis corporate and fragmented (SANTOS, 1990).As the final result, it was possible the identification of landowners (Matarazzo family and other), promoters and real property developers (Camargo Corrêa, Gafisa Godoi, Rodobens Setin) the State the neighborhood association (APRPP, ARPPO, ACCSF, SACSF) as major cause of the current situation at the studied places. All are organized - Each one in your on way, sometimes conflicting, sometimes agreeing with each other - corroborate to the production of the metropolitan corporate logic, including slum clearance and the privatization of public spaces closing streets and making exclusive the use of the squares and parks.
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Vice, President Research Office of the. "Newswire." Office of the Vice President Research, The University of British Columbia, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/2661.
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UBC's research community recently received a significant boost in financial support for five research hubs that will join the Centre for Brain Health as newly appointed national Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research (CECR).
Two UBC economics professors were recognized with separate Bank of Canada awards: the Research Fellowship 2008 and the Governor's Award.
UBC's Brain Research Centre has recevied $25 million from the Province of BC to establish a new facility focused on translational brain research.
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Reilly, Michael Patrick Joseph. "Reading into the past : a historiography of Mangaia in the Cook Islands." Phd thesis, 1991. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/113880.
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This thesis applies techniques of textual analysis to selected Mangaian historical
narratives. By viewing the texts as literary constructions an historian is able to gain a
better perspective of the way the narrations were structured and clothed with particular
ethnographic and historical textures. The introduction discusses the principal collectors
and the ways they represented their work.
The first part establishes the bases upon which the Mangaian past was told. Despite
the transformations experienced since the arrival of the missions a significant degree of
continuity can still be found in the roles of traditional experts, in particular of women, and
in the ways traditions are transmitted.
The second part explores a selection of Mangaian texts. Chapters four and five
delve into the extant versions of a Mangaian origin myth and their categories of the other
world—the supernatural. The roles of the ancestral figures and the supernatural beings
emphasise the important place occupied by mythological texts in the telling of Mangaia’s
past. The physical, cultural and spiritual mapping of Mangaia is established through the
conflicts and partial resolutions achieved between the supernatural agencies and the island’s
founding ancestor. Chapter six explores the connections between these categories of the
otherworld and historically recorded visits to the island. The fearful attitude these visitors
provoked and the attempts made by Mangaians to control the encounters reflect the ways
Mangaians viewed the world.
Chapters seven to twelve examine texts which elucidate the roles performed by the
principal actors in Mangaian society. The conversion and prophecy dreams reported by the
priestly spiritual ruler emphasise the shamanic dimension of the Mangaian priesthood. The
supreme political or temporal rulership is discussed; in particular, the contested nature of
the office; the periodic appearance of a subsidiary rulership; and the manner of succession
to temporal rule. The narratives emphasise the complementarity envisaged between the
spiritual and temporal rulers. Their cooperative duality was understood as ensuring the island’s peace and prosperity. Conversely, the island suffered when these rulers opposed
each other. However, the hierarchical appearance of Mangaian society structured around
these complementary rulerships was always leavened by crosscutting personal, family, tribal
or religious loyalties which acted to reintegrate society after political conflicts.
Reading into the many texted past of Mangaia not only emphasises the richness and
diversity of its ethnographic record but enables an historian to check the interested nature
of particular texts and their narrators. This approach may be applied to any historical
enterprise.
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Collins, William T. "Bathymetry and sediments of Ngatangiia Harbour and Muri Lagoon, Rarotonga, Cook Islands /." 1995. http://collections.mun.ca/u?/theses,83788.
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Alexeyeff, Kalissa Anna. "Dancing from the heart : movement, gender and sociality in the Cook Islands." Phd thesis, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/9529.
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This thesis explores dance through the lens of performance, globalization, gender and postcolonialism. It also relies on contemporary Pacific scholarship to argue about the centrality of active agency in cultural production. Cook Islands dancing is not simply a reflection past and present gendered cultural politics. Throughout, I argue that the mediational power of expressive practices actively produces the modalities through which regional and local identities engage with broader global processes. Dance, I suggest, is a generative process which occupies the hearts, minds and bodies of many Cook Islanders.