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SOCIAL SCIENTISTS IN PARADISE
Michael C. Howard
Social science research in the South Pacific has had its ups and downs. depending on the vagaries of the world economy, wars and other geo-political considerations, academic fads, and the
like. By and large, however, it can be argued that it has progressed - at least in terms of specialised complexity, the quantity of research and writing, and the range of theoretical perspectives represented. The
South Pacific is no longer the preserve of a handful of anthropologists studying kinship and sexual practices and historians recording the glories of imperial expansion. The heterogeneity of social science research
in the region has increased significantly over the past couple of decades. As a result, there are those who now feel that social science in the South Pacific has begun to exhibit a higher level of maturity, who
believe that it is on the verge of moving beyond simple description, vaguely informed by theoretical concerns, to a more sophisticated plane.
The articles in this special issue of the The Journal of Pacific Studies are drawn from the major fields within social science like history, anthropology, and geography, and to a lesser extent political sciences and economics, which have been present in the region over the years as well as from such relatively new fields of study as accounting, administration, and industrial relations.
TOWARDS A REVIEW OF HISTORY IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC
Jacqueline Leckie
On occasion Pacific historians have taken a break from the enthusiasm with which they pursue either the collection and interpretation of minutiae or the grand task of
generalisation to address themselves to the nature of Pacific history and the direction in which this ever increasing collection of historical information can or should be
heading. Some of the founding fathers in Pacific history have made their views known on the subject, notably J.W. Davidson (1966) and H.E. Maude (1971). While such
writings have raised a number of issues pertinent to the srudy of Pacific history, they have failed to provide anything approaching a critical evaluation of the patterns and
possible directions in the field. This is equally true of younger historians. Perhaps this is because Pacific historians, the majority of whom received their training at the
Department of Pacific History at the Australian National University set up by Davidson, on the whole have been reluctant to break away from the tutelage of their
old masters. Of course the scope for criticism of the direction of Pacific history has never been entirely closed, as indicated by Oskar Spate (1978) in the festschrift
dedicated to Maude. Spate pointed to a need for a wider perspective in the study of Pacific history, which he suggested be refferred to as `Oceanic history´. While
Davidson himself was not immune to this approach, it would seem that much of the research and writing under his direction lost sight of this goal.
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A PRELIMINARY SURVEY OF ANTHROPOLOGY AND SOCIOLOGY IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC
Michael C. Howard
Anthropology developed as an academic discipline in the 19th century within th e context of European colonial expansion. Its roots, in a sense, are to be found in
Victorian curiosity about the world and the pragmatic needs of colonial administrators and missionaries. In part because of this anthropology began with something od dual
character, voyeuristic dilettantism on the one hand and concern with practical political goals on the other. Although the former orientation has tended to dominate the
discipline , transformed slightly into various theoretical fads to justify the existence of anthropology as a profession, the latter has always played a significant role as well.
Common ground is to be found in a very narrow empiricism on the collection of minute detail.
“GEOGRAPHY.....THE NEXT MOST IMPORTANT SUBJECT ”
J.J.H. Forster, J.J. Bryant, H.I. Manner
W.C. Clarke and R.R. Thaman
Geography examines the relations between human society and the physical environment. This concern, as well as geography´s reasonable claim to being the
oldest social field of study, developing alogside geometry, geology, and geomancy, has led Kenneth Boulding to characterise geography as “the queen of the social
sciences ”. The present , and more modest title and characterisation has a uniquely South Pacific context, as it comes from Alexander´s 1967 report, The University of the South Pacific, which stated: Because of its wide coverage and the relative ease of
adaptation, at elementary levels, to the sepcific characteristics of the area, Geography should be a full department from the beginning. After English and Mathematics it is perhaps the next most important subject.
POLITICAL SCIENCE IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC : A SURVEY OF THE LITERATURE AND AN AGENDA OF WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE
Ralph R. Premdas
Political science within the South Pacific area is unevenly developed , substantially unsystematic, and for the most part, irrelevant to the fundamental needs of these
societies. Several factors explain this sad state of affairs. Prominent among them are the recent establishment of regional tertiary institutions, remoteness of the South
Pacific from the main centres of intellectual discourse, and the intimate economic dependance of these societies on Western governments. While most Third world
countries acceded to independence in the 1950´s and early 1960´s, European colonies in the South Pacific, apart from Western Samoa which became free in 1962,
started towards full sovereignty in 1968 when Nauru became independent, followed by Fiji and Tonga in 1970, by Niue in 1974, by Papua New Guinea in 1975, by the
Solomon Islands and Tuvalu i 1978, by Kiribati in 1979, and Vanuatu in 1980. Among the remaining colonies are American Samoa, New Caledonia, French Polynesia, and Irian Jaya.
THE STATE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THEORY IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC
H.M. Gunasekera and Ganeshwar Chand
This paper is an attempt to review the literature on economic development in the South Pacific written during the past decade and a half. The paper is based on an
examination of over one hundred and fifty pieces and reports. The list perused is by no means exhaustive, the authors’ input in this regard being constrained by their
imperfect knowledge of and accessibility to existing works and by the limited time available. Naturally, we have not been able to make individual mention of all the
works examined. In this task we have not been compelled to be selective, not only by the limitation of space but also by the fact that our main concern has been to classify
these writings in terms of a certain set of series of development. Hence, those writings which we considered as forming only detailed aspects of these series have been mentioned only in passing.
ADMINISTRATION AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC:
PERSPECTIVE AND PROBLEMS AREAS
Roman Dubsky
Administration as a field of theory and practice has increasingly moved in anew direction and new direction in the South Pacific. It is the aim of this study to identify
this direction and examined the nature of changed that has occured in this field from the early 1970´s onward. Experienced in the region, like recent experienced in other
developing areas, indicates considerable change in the nature of administrative systems and problems as a result of commitment of Pacific state to accelerated development.
There has been, for exaple a vast extension in the activities of public institutions and similarly private organisations have assumed a growing importance in the context of
development. Increasingly, the influence of advanced technology has made itself felt, affecting administrative practice. Such major changes in Pacific administrative systems
both public and private, call for an appraisal of these systems as they are at present. This involves attempts to identify the new trends in administrative thought and practive
and to redefine the role of adminstrative studies in the light of changing social and political conditions.
ACCOUNTING: A FIRST WORLD SYSTEM IN A THIRD WORLD SOCIETY
L.Lyons, M. White and A. Naughton
It is qite common for accountants, practitioners and academics alike to become so absorbed in the specific nature of each task that confronts us that we easily lose sight
of the overall role that the accountancy profession should play. This is a tendency that must be countered if accounting is to make the best contribution possible to the
development of society´s welfare. Accounting involves itself in reporting to entities of different types in different ways.
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC
Anand Chand
The purpose of this paper is to look at the topic of industrial relations in the South Pacific region. Emphasis will be placed on the development of industrial relations, a
survey of published literature , and some foresight of future trends. It can be said without doubt that industrial relations has been a neglected subject and what is
available is mostly either too general or incomplete. Regional trade and unionists and officials from labour ministries have at intervals written skimpy papers. Lack of interest
on the part of academics may be a reflection of their conservatism as well as of their fear of putting their feet into so- called dangerous waters.
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