Cultural Influences on Academic Performance in Fiji: A Case Study in the Nadroga/Navosa Province

At an upper level of education, especially Forms 5, 6 and 7 of secondary school and in tertiary institutions, Indo-Fijian students often perform better than their ethnic Fijian counterparts. This pattern of ethnic difference in academic performance is a long standing one, lasting over 70 years. However, both ethnic groups have been participants in the same educational system in Fiji. Educational policies have been implemented to reduce this difference. This present case study argues that there are cultural differences of values, beliefs and practices with respect to educational achievement among Indo-Fijians and ethnic Fijians. The achievement ethic of the two ethnic groups differs. Indo-Fijian culture respects and values education highly. Generally speaking, educating children has been always the top priority of Indo-Fijian culture. They believe that education changes people for the better, and the only way to “success” is through education. Thus, Indo- Fijian parents believe that helping children to strive for academic excellence is one of the most important tasks for them. The priority attached by such parents to educational success is one of the strongest forces behind academic success. By contrast, ethnic Fijian culture encourages children to have a strong sense of loyalty to their community and of becoming good members of their koro (i.e., village). Indeed, one’s total commitment to communal activities and cultural requirements is of vital importance. Although ethnic Fijian parents generally understand the importance of their children’s education and wish to support their education, ethnic Fijian communal demands are enormous in terms of time and labour. The pressure to maintain their moral and social obligations within the community tends to make ethnic Fijians spend a large amount of time, energy and money on functions such as ceremonial events and church activities, at the possible expense of providing for the formal education of their children. These demands mean that parents are often absent from home, and unable to supervise children’s homework. Ethnic Fijian children, upper secondary schoolers, feel strong pressure from their peers within their koro to conform to social activities, such as attending church, playing sports such as rugby and volleyball, and hanging around in the koro and town. Besides, the layout of the typical ethnic Fijian home is a more difficult environment than Indo-Fijian households for children’s study, largely due to the limited space to study independently. The socio-cultural background of ethnic Fijians, especially their home environment including family values and priorities, is one of the major barriers to their children’s educational progress. In addition, school leadership, teachers’ expectations, colonial policies and legacies, e.g., land tenure issues, play important roles in affecting differences in the academic performance of these two ethnic groups. Consequently, the educational achievement differences between ethnic Fijians and Indo-Fijians are revealed substantially during the secondary and tertiary educational institutions

Integration Between Bus and Light Rapid Transit on Midland Metro Line 1

It had been intended, when the proposed paper was submitted, to report on the first attempts at bus/LRT interchange on the new Midland Metro, and on the response of private sector bus operators who could, should the interchange not be perceived as meeting users’ needs, take over the provision of through bus services parallel to the new line. Delays in the opening of this new metro meant that evidence was not available at the time of writing, but even so there is other less direct evidence that can shed light on the general issue of integration in a de-regulated environment. The focus of the paper is upon how the users’ wishes for a seamless journey can best be reconciled with the requirements of the concessionaire and other operators working in an environment where some degree of competition takes place.Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies. Faculty of Economics and Business. The University of Sydne

That spatial shit: Exploring the space between actor training and training to play rugby union

It is sometimes argued, albeit anecdotally, that performing artists and sports practitioners have certain basic things in common when it comes to the goals and methods of training for their respective professions: discipline, focus, care of the body. However, in the case of actor training and training to play rugby union football—the two practices with which this thesis is concerned—it is also clear that arts and sports training take place within vastly different cultural contexts. Each of these fields of practice has its own set of expectations about the performative outcomes that training should support. Each acculturates quite specific bodily habits and values. On the one hand, actors are encouraged to explore a subtle form of embodiment, one that ‘awakens all the senses’ (Bogart 2005: 20) creating an openness to a variety of psychophysical demands. In contrast, a key concern of rugby union players is to be fitter, faster, stronger, and thus, techniques of the body (Mauss 1973) are shaped to reflect the requirements of the sport. Yet, although rugby union is a physically tough collision sport, there are chaotic elements of the game that require players to exploit a more intuitive set of bodily dispositions; ones that are not developed within regular rugby union training regimes. Hence the question arises, what if anything, might a rugby union player learn from being exposed to forms of actor training? And on what terms could an interaction between these different training regimes occur? In exploring the space between actor training and training to play rugby union, this thesis raises larger questions about the possibilities of crossover training between many other disciplines

Dystrophic muscle changes with giant lysosomes and vitamin E deficiency : A case report

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Neurodevelopment in offspring of hairdressers

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Toekomstperspectieven voor kinderen met spina bifida aperta

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Are muscle cramps in Isaacs' syndrome triggered by human immunoglobulin?

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