Beyond the air-conditioned boardroom: Bridging western and Fijian Indigenous knowledge in tourism research

The COVID-19 outbreak and increasing natural disasters have intensified concerns about effective water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) practices in Fiji’s tourism sector. Whilst Indigenous values and customs are recognised in tourism development, socially inclusive WASH research in the sector has inadequately addressed Indigenous cultural nuances, especially in Pacific communities. Drawing from the Fijian Vanua Research Framework (FVRF), a Pacific research methodology that incorporates Fijian values, relationship protocols, and ways of knowing, this research designed a culturally-sensitive and socially-inclusive methodology to respect traditional Fijian protocols, and examine hotel staff and host communities’ WASH practices. The research identified differential access to, and gaps in, the provision of WASH, and provided guidelines for future change. This paper presents the challenges of, and the lessons learnt from, the application of the methodology to field research. The methodology provided invaluable intellectual detail, resulting in the development of contextually appropriate recommendations and tools, and strengthening long-term working relationships

The genetic architecture of the human cerebral cortex

The cerebral cortex underlies our complex cognitive capabilities, yet little is known about the specific genetic loci that influence human cortical structure. To identify genetic variants that affect cortical structure, we conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of brain magnetic resonance imaging data from 51,665 individuals. We analyzed the surface area and average thickness of the whole cortex and 34 regions with known functional specializations. We identified 199 significant loci and found significant enrichment for loci influencing total surface area within regulatory elements that are active during prenatal cortical development, supporting the radial unit hypothesis. Loci that affect regional surface area cluster near genes in Wnt signaling pathways, which influence progenitor expansion and areal identity. Variation in cortical structure is genetically correlated with cognitive function, Parkinson's disease, insomnia, depression, neuroticism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Evidence review of Indigenous culture for health and wellbeing : Supplementary Table

There is growing evidence that the cultures of Indigenous peoples influences their health and wellbeing. We reviewed articles published between 1997–2017 that studied the relationship between culture, and health and wellbeing outcomes, and used an adapted version of the Agency of Healthcare Research Quality Framework to determine their strength of evidence. We examined the literature grouped by six cultural domains: country and caring for country, knowledge and beliefs, language, self-determination, family and kinship, and cultural expression. Seventy-two publications were included in the review, focusing on populations from Australia, Canada, the United States, and New Zealand. Across the literature there were conceptual variations in defining and measuring culture, and in the comparison of differing social constructs across Indigenous groups. The literature largely report that culture is significantly and positively associated with physical health, social and emotional wellbeing, and reduces risk-taking behaviours. The majority of publications presented evidence on the impact that culture, or culturally-based interventions, have on social and emotional wellbeing outcomes. The strength of evidence from most publications was assessed as moderate or low quality, and was limited by a lack of reliable and valid measures, population level studies, and longitudinal studies. Cultural domains including language, cultural expression and connection to country were more likely to be reported in quantitative studies, whereas cultural domains of knowledge, beliefs, kinship and family were more likely to be reported using qualitative methods. Those studies which used mixed-methods approaches were more likely to be assessed as high or moderate quality. This review encourages future research to consider adopting mixed methods approaches to investigate the complex, causal pathways through which culture influences health and wellbeing for Indigenous populations.This review was funded and supported by the Lowitja Institute, (Grant No 16-SDH-05). RL is supported by an NHMRC Research Fellowship (Grant No 1088366). AW is supported by an Australian Government Research Training Scholarship

Evidence review of Indigenous culture for health and wellbeing

There is growing evidence that the cultures of Indigenous peoples influence their health and wellbeing. We reviewed articles published between 1997 and 2017 that studied the relationship between culture, and health and wellbeing outcomes, and used an adapted version of the Agency of Healthcare Research Quality Framework to determine their strength of evidence. We examined the literature grouped by six cultural domains: country and caring for country, knowledge and beliefs, language, self-determination, family and kinship, and cultural expression. Seventy-two publications were included in the review, focusing on populations from Australia, Canada, the United States, and New Zealand. Across the literature there were conceptual variations in defining and measuring culture, and in the comparison of differing social constructs across Indigenous groups. The literature largely report that culture is significantly and positively associated with physical health, social and emotional wellbeing, and reduces risk-taking behaviours. The majority of publications presented evidence on the impact that culture, or culturally-based interventions, have on social and emotional wellbeing outcomes. The strength of evidence from most publications was assessed as moderate or low quality, and was limited by a lack of reliable and valid measures, population level studies, and longitudinal studies. Cultural domains including language, cultural expression and connection to country were more likely to be reported in quantitative studies, whereas cultural domains of knowledge, beliefs, kinship, and family were more likely to be reported using qualitative methods. Those studies that used mixed-methods approaches were more likely to be assessed as high or moderate quality. This review encourages future research to consider adopting mixed-methods approaches to investigate the complex, causal pathways through which culture influences health and wellbeing for Indigenous populations