With the onset of the independence of the Pacific Island States, the role of the mass media and their developmental processes began to be examined. This was of particular interest due to the obvious lack of a sufficient native media infrastructure to meet the demands of an indigenous population who were being introduced to a new world sphere and system. The main problem of mass media development in the Pacific lies in the fact that the nations in this area are still relatively behind in the basic structures of media participation. They lack technological knowledge of the various forms of media, the basic training and skills, and, moreover, the monetary means to address such deficiencies in the media. The outcome of this circumstance has been that Pacific media have become increasingly dependent upon the Western, industrialized nations such as the USA, Australia and New Zealand. Such dependence on these foreign nations has given rise to the question of 'cultural imperialism'. The aforementioned countries have a large influence in the Pacific through the unequal relaying of communication and cultural products and in the ownership of mass media agencies. This history of foreign based, imported culture has manifested itself in increased urbanization, social disruption, and greater commodity dependence and consumerism in the Pacific. This study will therefore be an attempt to analyse the media development processes of the Pacific by using Fiji as a case study. The critical analysis will come from Wallerstein's World System perspective. Further, it will be shown how Fiji's historical, involvement in the 'capitalist world economy', and her history of racism in the political and communication aspects of her society have helped shape her present media system. The underlying premise of the argument, will be that these factors have not been beneficial to achieving mass media development based on self-sufficiency, nor on harmony between the ethnic groups of Fiji.

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.

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.

Recent decades have marked growing academic and scientific attention to the role of indigenous knowledge in climate change adaptation, mitigation, and detection strategies. However, how indigenous knowledge is incorporated is a point of contention between self-identifying indigenous groups and existing institutions which combat climate change. In this thesis, I argue that the full inclusion of indigenous knowledge is deterred by certain aspects of modernity. In order to overcome the problems of modernity, I argue that a recognition theory of justice is needed as it regards to indigenous knowledge. Recognition justice calls for indigenous groups to retain meaningful control over how and when their indigenous knowledge is shared. To supplement this, I use the Marshall Islands as a case study. The Marshall Islands afford a nice particular case because of their longstanding colonial relationship with the United States and the impending danger they face of rising sea levels. Despite this danger, the Republic of the Marshall Islands calls for increased recognition as leaders in addressing climate change.