> Adopting Modern Information Technology in the South Pacific: A Proces of Development, Preservation or Underdevelopment of the Culture?
> The Electronic Journal on Information Syste ms in Developing Countries,
> http://www.ejisdc.org
> Adopting Modern Information Technology in the South Pacific:
> A Process of Development, Preservation,
> or Underdevelopment of the Culture?
> Dr Jide Olutimayin
> The University of the South Pacific
> Suva, Fiji Islands
> Tel: +679-212-588/212-487
> Fax: +679-303-229
> Email: olutimayin_j@usp.ac.fj
> Abstract
> This study aims at investigating the extent to which Information Technology (IT) has affected
> the cultures of small nations, taking the South Pacific region as a study point. Against the
> background that the educational systems of the Pacific nations have not produced an efficient
> and effective curriculum with which to cope with the challenges of highly sophisticated
> technological applications, the study also examines the cultural challenges of adopting IT in
> the South Pacific to see if and how IT can be integrated into the cultures of the region for
> maximum benefits of the two entities. The study finds that culture and information
> technology would appear to be competing for the position of importance and/or power in
> human consideration, and this judgement reflects our attitudes towards each of them. Overall,
> culture and technology in the South Pacific, as in the rest of the world, need to function
> together, and should be prepared to accept one another as partners-in-progress.
> 1. INTRODUCTION
> 1.1 Culture
> Culture cannot be precisely defined, for it is something that is perceived, something felt.
> Bodley (1994) used the term culture to refer collectively to a society and its way of life. He
> suggested that culture involves at least three components: what people think, what they do,
> and the material products they produce. Thus mental processes, beliefs, knowledge, and
> values are parts of culture. In one sense, therefore, culture refers to man's personal life and
> values, his beliefs and principles, and his intellectual and artistic expressions. Culture, as an
> adaptive behaviour, has been an integral feature of the human species throughout its
> evolution; it is shared, learned, symbolic, and transmitted cross -generationally. In another
> sense, culture refers to all non-biological aspects of human existence, including economics,
> politics and technology.
> There are very strong beliefs that the adoption and usage of information technology
> (IT) has profound positive effects on the development of any country, but little attention has
> been paid to these effects in relation to culture. Clemons and Wilkinson (1996) wrote: > "> It is
> frequently assumed that the introduction and adoption of new technology improves
> productivity, and that if productivity improvements result from this new technology that the
> net social and economic impacts will be positive> "> . However, they continued by observing
> "> ...> that there is considerable uncertainty associated with the rapid introduction of information
> technology. What if the rate of adoption exceeds society> '> s or individual> '> s ability to adapt?
> What if economic benefits are distributed in ways that are socially destabilizing? What if
> income distribution is further skewed, with higher skilled personnel becoming better
> compensated, while many people are deskilled and effectively unemployable at jobs
> comparable to their current jobs and at salaries comparable to what they are earning today?> "> .
> EJISDC (2002) 9, 3, 1-12
> The Electronic Journal on Information Systems in Developing Countries,
> http://www.ejisdc.org
> 2
> Many humanistic anthropologists see culture as an observable phenomenon, and a
> people> '> s unique possession (Bodley, 1994). Our interest here is, would IT deprive people of
> this > "> unique possession> "> , even if it seems to contribute to their economic development? With
> particular respect to developing nations, Do et al. (1996) questioned, > "> can information
> technology spark socioeconomic progress in a poor and developing country?> "> . They
> answered, in respect of Vietnam, that > "> with its recently approved IT plan, Vietnam is hoping
> the answer is yes> "> .
> The objective of this study, therefore, is to attempt to answer the following four
> questions:
> · To what extent has IT affected the culture in the South Pacific?
> · What are the costs of adopting IT?
> · How can IT and culture be integrated?
> · Does technology automatically affect and therefore determine culture, or is culture a
> living thing that prevails over technology?
> Answers to these questions would, amongst other things,
> · assist policy makers in developing countries to understand how social groups use, adapt,
> and interpret (information) technologies, often in ways not anticipated by those who
> designed the systems or by those who create policies for their deployment and use;
> · help the governments to be sensitive to the socioeconomic benefits/effects of information
> technologies in poor nations, which would in turn enable them to determine which areas
> of development they should focus on, and the appropriate rate of adoption of these
> technologies; and by extension,
> · enhance the determination of the distribution of these benefits, particularly in relation to
> planning for appropriate human resources development in these countries.
> 2. LITERATURE REVIEW
> Culture has been described in numerous ways. It may be perceived as a flexible set of rules
> that prescribe standards of proper and acceptable behaviour within a society. It is a social
> phenomenon, a learned behaviour which is transmitted through the communication of ideas,
> emotions and desires expressed in language (Haviland, 1974).
> A culture must satisfy certain basic requirements of its members if it is to continue to
> function. It must provide for subsistence and biological continuity and it must motivate its
> members to survive and engage in actions that are necessary to perpetuate the cultural
> system. The theme of these statements is that culture cannot exist without some form of
> society, i.e. culture is social. The constituent components of a culture are, therefore, those
> factors observed in the society as providing for the production of its members; they must
> maintain order among its members, and likewise between its members and outsiders. They
> express the way authority should be exercised, what combinations of obedience and initiative
> should be looked for in subordinates. In specific terms, almost everything in a socie ty is a
> constituent of culture. For instance, William (1974) observed that technologies like
> television, phones and lighters (or matches) have become cultures in the West, and are no
> longer thought of as technologies. In the Pacific, their parallels would be village dramas
> (including moon light stories), village criers (or bamboo trumpets), axe and stones (to
> produce fire). He further asserted that canoe rowing and reading the direction of the wind for
> weather forecasts are cultural elements in the Pacific. These are mental cultures. However,
> certain factors are judged more profound than others such as language, religion, political
> EJISDC (2002) 9, 3, 1-12
> The Electronic Journal on Information Systems in Developing Countries,
> http://www.ejisdc.org
> 3
> considerations and affinity, matrimonial system, lifestyle, music (and songs), food, clothes,
> beliefs, art, economics and, very importantly, technology.
> Schein's work (1986) provides a good framework within which culture(s) can be
> understood. He described one culture (Culture A) as where ideas come ultimately from
> individuals, where truth can only be arrived at by fighting things out in group, and where>
> people are responsible, motivated and capable of governing themselves; people engage in
> intense conversations and arguments, and there is a general air of informality. This will very
> largely describe Western cultures. He also described another culture (Culture B) as where
> truth comes ultimately from older, wiser and higher-status members, where people are
> capable of loyalty and discipline in carrying out directions, where relationships are basically
> linear and vertical, and where people have a niche in the society and would do everything
> possible to ward off any invasions. In this culture, hardly anything is done except by
> appointment, and when people of different ranks are present, there is deference and
> obedience; an air of formality permeates everything. These will largely describe cultures of
> small nations, fitting those of the South Pacific, where the way of life is enshrined in rituals
> so that rule books and manuals are almost unnecessary; custom and tradition provided the
> answers. Strong pervasive cultures had turned the societies into cohesive tribes (with
> distinctly clannish feelings). But things are beginning to change gradually - as a result of the
> influence of Western cultures (Olutimayin, 1989).
> Hofstede> '> s work also provides a good framework within which cultures can be
> examined. Hofstede (1986) proposed that cultural values can be described in four
> dimensions: Power Distance, Individualism/Collectivism, Masculinity/Femininity, and
> Uncertainty Avoidance.
> Power Distance (PD) describes the extent to which the less powerful members of a
> culture expect and accept that power is distributed unequally; while low PD cultures endorse
> egalitarianism, high PD cultures endorse hierarchies. South Pacific culture will fall into high
> PD dimension.
> Individualism-Collectivism describes the extent to which individuals> '> behaviours are
> influenced and defined by others. While individualists prefer self-sufficiency, collectivists
> recognise their interdependent roles and obligations to the group. The latter description fits
> the South Pacific culture.
> Masculinity/Femininity (MAS) defines quality of life issues, where high MAS
> cultures embrace assertiveness, aggressive success and competition; low MAS cultures
> endorse modesty, compromise and co-operative success. The culture in this region is one of
> low masculinity; it is not an aggressive culture. Life is taken as a very simple thing. There is
> what is called the Malua syndrome which endorses simplicity of life and its activities.
> Uncertainty Avoidanc e (UA) refers to the way cultures resolve uncertainty; while
> high UA cultures prefer rules and set procedures to deal with uncertainties, low UA cultures
> tolerate greater ambiguity and prefer to be more flexible in their responses. As would be
> expected, the culture in the region is aptly described by low UA.
> Moala et al. (1999) describe the place of information in the South Pacific culture as
> follows:
> The South Pacific society had perceived "information" as something to guard
> and hide, rather than share and publish. Access to it was a matter of
> "responsibility", rather than right. The custom made the knowledge and
> sharing of secrets a "sacred rite". But now, information is no longer the
> exclusive right of a particular person in the society; there are the print media,
> the television, the internet, etc. As in the western culture, people now have to
> fight and be competitive; it is no longer an era for complacency and
> EJISDC (2002) 9, 3, 1-12
> The Electronic Journal on Information Systems in Developing Countries,
> http://www.ejisdc.org
> 4
> authoritative dominance by the high-status members; unfortunately, this is
> with the side effect that loyalty and obedience to the elders have diminished
> drastically. The younger ones no longer accord the hitherto "elders' rights" any>
> chastity. All the same, the people have not totally surrendered all aspects of
> their culture to western influence and modem technology. For instance, the
> technologies of governance and social control, like those of agriculture,
> navigation and communication, remain subjugated to the people's culture.
> Do et al.> '> s (1996) question was more concerned with the effect of information
> technology on the culture of the people rather than the economic contribution of IT, because
> of the importance of culture to the people. In essence, he was asking if IT would erode this
> unique possession, even if it seems to contribute to their economic development. Bodley
> (1994) has observed: > "> Some fifteen years ago a typical nuclear family consisted of a father,
> mother, and children. Now many children in economically well-developed countries spend so
> many hours alone in front of the computer screen that, in fact, we now have a new nonnuclear
> family system: a father- mother and child/children-computer(s)> "> . At the Workshop of
> the Computing Research Association (2000) it was suggested that: > "> It is important to
> understand how social groups use, adapt and reinterpret technologies as computing and
> digital communications, often in ways not anticipated by those who designed the systems or
> by those who create policies for their deployment and use> ...> "> .
> Fomichova (1995) said that the intensive use of computers by the child before the
> realization of his/her thought-producing self may prevent the child from being able to
> develop as a creatively thinking personality. This is a negative example of a mental process,
> which had been defined earlier as part of culture. The development of a new information
> society would then raise a number of fundamental problems, one of which would be how to
> formulate and create optimal cognitive preconditions for successful children-computer
> interaction. These are some of the problems faced by developing nations who are still to
> development their educational curricula properly, let alone formulating and creating optimal
> preconditions for a successful mental process of children-computer interaction. At present,
> the adoption of IT in developing countries is taken hook, line, and sinker.
> In the 2001 edition of the Workshop of the Computing Research Association, it was
> found that recent breakthroughs in the speed, communications capability and storage capacity
> of information devices would have far-reaching and unforeseen effects on families,
> communities, institutions and democratic processes of a nation. This, again, indicates that
> adoption of IT is likely to influence some part of that society. The existence of a
> technological change presuppos es cultural acceptance. Indeed, technology is itself part of
> culture. If a certain technology is not adopted in a society, that technology would not form
> part of that society's culture, and cannot therefore largely affect the culture of that society
> (Ferkiss, 1969). Societal culture is, therefore, an important organisational determinant of IT
> adoption. Culture> '> s role in the development and adoption of IT is often underestimated by
> nations, especially in industries (Shore 1998). Societal/organisation culture is a shared set of
> values which is typical of the people within the society/organisation (Punnett and Ricks
> 1990), and it has bearing with what and how technologies are adopted.
> However, it is a simple fact that in the last few decades, the world has faced a new
> culture - the computer culture - which has its own language, habits, customs and manners. It
> has penetrated all areas of our life; it has also exerted an impact on some aspects of culture in
> the Pacific. In the past, attendants at shops and other service outlets used to do simple, and at
> times, intricate calculations in their heads, e.g. calculating total costs from unit costs,>
> calculating the balance due to a customer after purchase(s), etc. But now, such calculations
> can no longer be done in one> '> s head; instead, the service attendants have to use calculators.
> EJISDC (2002) 9, 3, 1-12
> The Electronic Journal on Information Systems in Developing Countries,
> http://www.ejisdc.org
> 5
> Similarly, students at the university here no longer pay attention to their spellings, as spell
> checking facilities are now available on the computer. Consequently, mathematical skills and
> grammatical expeditiousness have grossly deteriorated. Ultimately, the educational system in
> the South Pacific has been negatively affected by IT, in the sense that students now look for
> an easy-way-out in their academic study and, by extension, in almost all spheres of life
> (Moala et al., 1999).
> 3. METHODOLOGY
> The methodology of this work embraces constructivist inquiry (Dey, 1993) which is a
> culturally driven approach to social research and involves explanation of the social events
> and processes within a given setting, in this case, the South Pacific. It deals with human
> behaviour, which is not easily quantified but is effectively described in detail. Within this
> inquiry, the research applied Purposive Sampling which focuses on purposeful selection of
> research participants on the bases of their knowledge and information that are relevant and
> essential to the research objectives. Three groups of participants were selected and
> interviewed:
> · Semi-structured interviews were held with government officials, i.e. policy makers;
> · Similar interviews were held with individuals in institutions and enterprises involved in
> developing and managing IT, as well as with some of their clients;
> · Interviews were also conducted with representative members of the general public with a
> view of determining how they assess modern information technology, vis-a-vis, the
> effects on their culture. This group consists of people in the urban areas who had access
> to most or some of the IT, the high chiefs in the local provinces, as well as rura l dwellers
> who have little or no access to any IT.
> The sampling seeks depth rather than breadth of information, and does not seek to
> make generalisation to all cases (Patton, 1990). This forms the basis for this qualitative work,
> rather than quantitative analysis.
> As already observed above, South Pacific society has traditionally perceived
> information as something to guard and hide, rather than share and publish. It is, therefore,
> always an uphill task to apply structured research instruments in data gathering. Experience
> indicates an average response/interest rate of 20% or less. This has further informed the
> rational of using semi-structured research instruments for the study. Apart from the
> interviews, the research looked at regional published works, which included The Draft
> Research Report of the South Pacific Forum Secretariat (commissioned in Nov. 1998). This
> particular report was examined to outline the Pacific information structure, with a view of
> understanding the framework within which policies are developed. Government policies and
> frameworks were also examined to see how much room (or otherwise) they allow for
> integrating modem information technology into government and business operations.
> 4. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS
> 4.1 The Case of Fiji
> Culture in the South Pacific had been built mainly on respect and loyalty to seniors and chiefs
> as earlier portrayed by Culture B, but now seems to be tilting (or have tilted) towards Culture
> A:
> For thousands of years Fijians lived with an affinity to the "rhythm of the earth": they
> had a spiritual relationship to the environment. Typical of hunter and gathering communities,
> all their psychological needs were met by the environment. Their ends and means were tied
> together. For many years Fijians were permeated with nature-oriented religion that expressed>
> EJISDC (2002) 9, 3, 1-12
> The Electronic Journal on Information Systems in Developing Countries,
> http://www.ejisdc.org
> 6
> the ecocentric perspective. These cosmologies, involving a sacred part of the Earth and all its
> inhabitants, helped order their lives and determine their values (Moala et al., 1999).
> The cultural affinity between the people of Fiji and their land is captured vividly by
> Black Rose, an indigenous Fijian musician/composer, who wrote a simple jingle for the Air
> Pacific advertisement (Fiji TV 1, 1999):
> This is our Fiji
> Home for you and me
> This is where we stay
> TO LIVE OUR LIVES OUR WAY
> This is our Fiji.
> The people of the South Pacific are very much bound to their land and their culture,
> and would not want to give these up easily.
> The Greeks used the term oikos, which means house (or home of all being). Fijians
> refer to vanua; Maoris whenua; Vanuatu encompasses the human and non-human
> components of their environments. Vanua (place or space) have both spiritual and
> physical/territorial connotations. In other words Vanua is a sacred, sociological and
> geographical point of reference. Vanua is the central feature of Fijian cosmologies, their
> habitation in the spirit, the transparent wall of their society, their identity, habitat, territorial
> root, their oikos to which they refer. But technologies seem to have changed a lot of these,
> e.g. the traditional Bures (round-shaped huts made of rafia and grass, which took care of both
> hot and cold weather) have given way to concrete-walled buildings, thereby depriving the
> people of their Vanua values; cinemas have replaced village dramas; radio and television
> have replaced "the coconut-wireless" (news by word of mouth); aerobics and fitness gadgets
> have obliterated the nature-endowed body building ways of life; telephones have reduced
> family visits and friendly calls, etc.
> These sacred domains of the culture now seem to be in danger of extinction, a
> situation that lends credence to Broomfield> '> s (1997) thoughts about recharting man> '> s future:
> "Our culture is in danger: overpopulation and over consumption have
> jeopardised our survival while technology's great promise has resulted in
> environmental disaster. This results from the serious error of the Western
> world in equating one way of knowing with all ways of knowing and
> mistaking a thin slice of reality for the whole. But the wisdom to chart a new
> course is available to us from many sources: from the sacred traditions of our
> ancestors; from the spiritual traditions of other cultures; from the feminine
> ways of being, from contemporary movements; and, from the movements for
> personal, socia l and ecological transformation.> ">
> 4.1.1 Weather Lore
> Meteorological lore was known to the older Fijians by the accumulation of both real
> knowledge and of mythical knowledge of weather matters. When one of the high chiefs was
> asked to comment on their knowledge and use of environmental factors in their daily
> activities, he said: > "> The coming up of the lunar halo (virikoronavula) and solar halo
> (virikoronasiga) is indicative of changes in the weather, for instance hurricanes. Fijians work
> on these principles to forecast weather conditions, planting seasons, and planning their
> calendars. These precious collections of knowledge have almost totally given way to the
> '> white man's> '> way of doing these activities. This knowledge and culture should have been
> EJISDC (2002) 9, 3, 1-12
> The Electronic Journal on Information Systems in Developing Countries,
> http://www.ejisdc.org
> 7
> documented properly to guard against its loss and the people's identity, and also to
> supplement the imported modern methods (Fiji Institute of Language and Culture, 1986).
> Government policies would need to encourage research to document what is still known of
> this knowledge and to resuscitate what has been lost or abandoned> "> .
> 4.1.2 Oral Tradition
> Oral tradition in the South Pacific, as in most societies, includes all the plastic arts in all their
> forms, all kinds of sculpture, because the tradition of art and craft has been transmitted orally
> from one generation to another, and is often linked with other oral traditions such as theatre
> and festivals. This has a fairly strong economic base in Fiji, and it provides a lot of attraction
> for foreign visitors. When interviewed, Mere Samisoni, an indigenous businesswoman in the
> capital reiterated: > "> These need to be preserved. If we take time to document this important
> knowledge from our ancestors, the intellectual knowledge would be retained, and on-coming
> generations would understand and appreciate the culture(s) of their forefathers> "> .
> 4.1.3 Language and Culture
> When Mere was asked if the present generation have difficulty using the indigenous
> language(s), she responded:
> Yes. Generally only very few speakers of the > "> real native languages> "> are left,
> and even then the languages/dialects are very rarely spoken at home. We need
> to get back to teaching these languages at school; the same interest and
> encouragement should be carried to the grass roots to speak the languages at
> indigenous official functions. We also need to document our languages and
> dialects to improve our traditional learning base (i.e. our home). This will help
> in effectively passing on traditional knowledge> ...>
> However, even bearing these sentiments in mind, the activities of the Fiji Institute of
> Language and Culture presents an encouraging influence of IT on the culture. The Institute
> was established by the Great Council of Chiefs in 1986 to undertake, encourage, and facilitate
> the study and development of the indigenous languages and cultures of Fiji and Rotuma.
> With the diversity of the Fijian dialects and the minute variations in culture and objects of
> reverence, the Institute has managed to produce a Fijian dictionary which contains 25,000
> entries. In addition, a small number of tapes and photographs have been produced. The
> language policy for the greater Fiji society is to use the English, Fijian and Hindi languages
> for official purposes. The government acknowledges this in the 1997 Government Annual
> Report: "The government appreciates the contributions of languages of the communities to
> the well being of the society, and the rich variety of their faiths, tradition, languages and
> cultures".
> 4.2 Values and Customs in the Region
> A study in Samoa stated that the massive infusion of TV has made a difference in their social
> pattern as well as their use of time (Guback, 1974; Takeuchi, 1981). It is reported that even
> some of the traditional 6 p.m. devotional meetings have been abandoned or re-scheduled on
> certain evenings. One would anticipate a similar impact in Fiji, Tonga and other Pacific
> Island states. In addition, many parents in the region are worried about the undesirable things
> that children learn from the television, for instance, the amount of violence and sex in
> entertainment programmes. They fear that showing the homes of wealthy people and
> amenities of urban life on television might encourage urban migration which will lead to the
> EJISDC (2002) 9, 3, 1-12
> The Electronic Journal on Information Systems in Developing Countries,
> http://www.ejisdc.org
> 8
> overcrowding of cities, and consequently, to the creation of slums; parents also fear that it
> might encourage envy in those that are not so affluent.
> These issues affect the traditional values and customs of the regional culture. It
> appears the television is reinforcing the trend of crimes, which are now becoming more
> sophisticated. In July 1998, a Cabinet Minister, Luagalau Tamasese Kamu, was assassinated
> with the aid of a telescopic automatic gun, a sophisticated technology that gave accurate and>
> precise information to the shooter about his or her target. In relation to this, the editorial of
> the local magazine wrote > "> ...> This surely is an alien invasion of our psyche as a nation and as
> a people" (Talamua, 1999).
> Other aspects of the people> '> s life that were observed were the games they played and
> their languages. New games like Ninja Turtles have replaced more traditional ones; the
> languages now reflect the popular culture of the western world. New ideas of individualism
> challenge more collectivist values. The concern over video> '> s negative impact is best summed
> up in the report of government commission set up by the Cook Islands to look into the
> educational reform. Among other things, it said:
> The influence of video was felt to be the single most important influence today
> upon a Rarotonga> '> s child life in terms of forming attitudes and dictating daily
> behavioural rhythms. It was widely alleged that it had been, on Rarotonga,
> more influential than the church and the school put together. It has redefined
> and defiled the habits, customs, attitudes, values and lifestyle of Rarotonga
> youth. (Cook Islands Government, 1989).
> 4.3. Adoption of Information Technologies
> IT has been adopted fairly widely in the South Pacific. Table 1 shows the results of a survey
> designed to measure how much IT equipment was in use in Fiji as at December 2000. ATM
> machines and telephone banking systems introduced by the banks have greatly improved the
> turnaround time of information to customers and have made banking more relaxed. Similarly,
> the introduction of mobile phones has increased the speed of information from one
> person/business to another, with a net result of increased productivity. Most of the people
> interviewed commended the situation. Home phones are the most numerous single item of IT
> equipment and they have replaced the practice of spreading news by word of mouth.
> Television sets have also become very common in most homes. Commercial businesses have
> gone as far as introducing easy credit term payments to lure more homes to spend more on
> these items. The number of computers has increased astronomically since these data were
> collected, with the accompanying effect that most high school students now spend their afterschool
> time largely on computer games, computer chit-chats, pornography, Internet surfing,
> etc. at the expense of their home work.
> The economies of the South Pacific are generally relatively poor compared to other
> countries and the amount of money that has been spent on acquiring modern IT some 15 - 20
> years ago represented a fairly high percentage of their GDP, and their GNP as well. Table 2
> shows these investments as a percentage of the GDP (Reddy et al., 2001). These authors said:
> "> These high figures do not suggest effective public sector or private sector management,
> especially in the early years. In recent times, however, business organisations have reduced
> their percentage figures considerably> "> .
> EJISDC (2002) 9, 3, 1-12
> The Electronic Journal on Information Systems in Developing Countries,
> http://www.ejisdc.org
> 9
> Table 1: Information Technology Hardware by Major Sectors in Fiji
> Item Govt Statutory
> Bodies
> Private
> Sector
> Private
> Homes
> Others Total
> Computers 425 215 1410 207 103 2360
> Fax Machines 110 57 518 93 46 824
> ATM Machines 0 0 23 0 0 23
> Telephones 1117 804 1013 8752 510 12196
> Photocopiers 713 625 917 236 53 2544
> Television Sets 23 15 38 5824 31 5931
> Video Cameras 45 38 310 322 25 740
> Others 55 42 110 36 45 288
> Table 2: Investments in IT Hardware as a Percentage of GDP
> Years Government Public Government + Public Private
> 1977-1981 5.72 6.36 12.08 13.52
> 1982-1986 3.92 5.4 9.32 11.60
> 1987-1991 3.08 4.1 7.18 7.10
> 1992-1996 2.68 5.06 7.74 4.14
> 1997-1999 2.86 4.62 7.48 4.32
> Source: Compiled from Reserve Bank Quarterly, March 2001.>
> 4.4 Government Policies
> As indicated in the Methodology, interviews were held with institutions, enterprises and
> individuals involved in developing and utilising IT in the region. The general feelings were
> that although various government and non-governmental organisations have been
> encouraging traditional resource usage and conservation management of all aspects of culture
> (biological conditions, marine environment, forests and medicinal plants), difficulties exist
> and have arisen from the following factors:
> · There was no proper legislation to ensure security and safety of the culture. A lot of
> efforts are said to have been made in the region to formulate policies and develop
> legislations for the adoption of information technology, but the truth is that
> · The people are not well prepared to adopt the changes, especially the idea of
> documenting knowledge and other aspects of culture. This spirit is captured by the
> resentment and fear expressed by the indigenous Fijian businessman, who
> commented, when interviewed, > "> ...> documenting and recording traditional knowledge
> may lead to dilution of the knowledge, and exposure to exploitation by outside
> interests which have already begun with foreign patenting of traditional plants used
> for western medicines> "> .
> · Most of the development projects focus only on economic gain but fail to
> acknowledge the social impact, health risks, and the political impact on the wider
> society.
> 5. DISCUSSION
> Indeed, the rapid technological developments and advances of the past 25 years have
> catapulted the world into the era of "cyberspace" and have also made a variety of significant
> impacts on life in modem society. But, the educational systems of the Pacific nations have
> not produced efficient and effective curriculum with which to enable them to cope with
> challenges of highly sophisticated technological applications. Although this may sound
> EJISDC (2002) 9, 3, 1-12
> The Electronic Journal on Information Systems in Developing Countries,
> http://www.ejisdc.org
> 10
> negative, it is not intended to view social and cultural impacts or the challenges of IT in a
> negative sense only, as they are considered as a mix of positive and negative influences, in
> varying proportions, depending on the circumstances. For instance, cultural challenges can be
> related in some ways to "cultural imposition", "cultural invasion", "cultural exchange" or
> "cultural enrichment". While IT has in many ways brought about great progress as well as
> comforts to modem life, it has also raised the question of technological influences on ethics,
> privacy, values, morals and psychology, all of which are of critical importance in our daily
> lives.
> This rapid change is especially critical in the South Pacific islands, where the leap
> from the > "> coconut wireless> "> to electronic bulletin boards, packet switching, fax machines and
> broadcast television may be taxing the capacity to integrate them into the traditional lifestyles
> still found in many parts of the South Pacific. While the new services permit instantaneous
> communication from the islands to the metropolitan countries, and among the islands
> countries themselves, they also serve as a conduit through which western images, thoughts
> and values are imported into the region in unprecedented volumes and forms. Coping with
> the problems induced by technological advances in general cannot, therefore, be taken
> lightly.
> Another of the early technologies which brought mixed consequences was the printed
> word. Introduced early in the 19th century, it established the phenomenon of visible language,
> with all of the presumed benefits of literacy. At the same time, it ushered in radical changes
> in belief systems, ways of governance, teaching and learning, and notions of law and
> authority. Literacy in the European languages, heralded by most educators as an indicator of>
> progress, may now be contributing to the declining status of ma ny of the indigenous
> languages in the South Pacific.
> Tables 1 and 2 suggest that adoption of IT in the South Pacific comes at an economic
> price. Furthermore, these small, poor nations have had to look everywhere for aid to
> implement their social responsibilities. This has created > "> cap-in-hand> "> situations which may
> serve to mortgage their political independence. Recent examples were the requests from
> Australia to Nauru, PNG, and Fiji for these three nations to open up their shores for Refugee
> Registration Centres on behalf of Australia, the same refugees that Australia had refused to
> take for fear of possible terrorism. These requests were, of course, laced with > '> economic
> carrots> '> , which Nauru and PNG caught. In the case of Fiji, there was so much outcry from
> both the Parliament and the public that Australia was > "> forced to withdraw> "> the request.
> In the South Pacific, it used to be a cultural taboo for sex to be discussed openly, even
> between two adults. But now, the introduction of computers has allowed even children to surf
> the Internet for all sorts of things that the society would regard as > "> garbage> "> to its culture;
> children watch pornography, interrogate chat houses on the internet, compare and exchange
> experiences about their sexual exploits, etc. These activities are the consequences of modern
> IT on the cultures and social values in the South Pacific.
> Although the introduction of IT has contributed to the social development of the
> island nations, these developments seem to have come at a cost of losing their own ways of
> doing things. The composition of culture by Bodley (1994) includes a society> '> s value and its
> way of doing things; if this is eroded, as it appears to be the case, then a major cost to the
> people of the South Pacific may be an eventual loss of their identities.
> 6. CONCLUSION
> This paper has looked at some of the constituents of culture, both globally and in the South
> Pacific environment. Culture, anywhere, is not static; some of the constituents can be
> removed (and/or replaced), some can be modified, while others are added due to some
> introductions in the society. The latter seems to be very predominant in cultural issues in the
> EJISDC (2002) 9, 3, 1-12
> The Electronic Journal on Information Systems in Developing Countries,
> http://www.ejisdc.org
> 11
> South Pacific, particularly in Fiji, in which a lot of changes have occurred. Some of these
> changes can be said to be positive, while some can be described as being negative. Some IT
> applications have had modifying effects on the culture of the people, while others seem to
> have eroded the people's culture altogether. Although the introduction of IT has contributed
> to the social development of the island nations, these developments seem to have come at a
> cost.
> Fundamentally, culture must be measured in terms of whether or not it satisfies the
> needs and the expectations of the people (Ferkiss, 1969). Applying these principles to the
> South Pacific society, the impact of technology in culture should be measured from the
> standpoints of the people, rather than from the experiences of the Western world. Education,
> economics and standard of living (in addition to music and languages) would probably be
> good indicators of the present impact of this technology on the South Pacific society; in the
> Western world, politics, family life, religion and art would certainly be added to the above
> factors as evaluation subjects. Impact of any technology on cultures should, therefore, be
> examined sui generis. Indeed, the impact of any technology on a culture should be assessed
> in the individual terms of the culture concerned. There are costs and benefits involved in the
> adaptation of IT to culture, and there are certainly ways of integrating the two entities for the>
> maximum benefits of the people.
> Finally, culture and technology are intertwined. Culture, as the historically developing
> aggregate of material and spiritual values, created by humanity, has existed since civilisation
> began. It has experienced periods of vigorous progress as well as endless decay
> (Tchogovadze, 1989). Similarly, there is probably no field of human knowledge that has
> experienced such a dramatic rate of development as IT.
> Thus, the two entities (culture and IT) would appear to be competing for "the position
> of importance and/or power" in human consideration. The people of the South Pacific would
> appear to believe that some traditional ITs are being used to supplement contemporary IT,
> (e.g. in documenting and recording traditions/history by multimedia processes) and the
> process can be enhanced through better education. Therefore, culture and IT in the South
> Pacific, as in the rest of the world, need to function together, and should be prepared to accept
> one another as partners-in-progress.
> 7. REFERENCES
> Broomfield, J. (1997) Other Ways of Knowing: Recharting Our Future with Ageless Wisdom,
> Inner Tradition: Rochester, VT.
> Bodley, J.H. (1994) Cultural Anthropology: Tribes, States and the Global System, Mayfield
> Publishing: Mountain View, CA.
> Clemons, E.K, & Wilkinson, L. (1996) Future Scenarios: Business and Social Implications
> of Rapid Technology Introduction and Adoption. Proceedings of the Hawaii
> International Conference on System Sciences.
> Computing Research Association (2000) Workshop on Culture, Society, and Advanced
> Information Technology.
> Computing Research Association (2001) Workshop on Culture, Society, and Advanced
> Information Technology.
> Cook Islands> '> Government (1989) Ministerial Taskforce Review No. 43: Polynesia Way:
> Observations and Perceptions, Conclusions and Proposals, 33.
> EJISDC (2002) 9, 3, 1-12
> The Electronic Journal on Information Systems in Developing Countries,
> http://www.ejisdc.org
> 12
> Dey, I. (1993) Qualitative Data Analysis: A User -friendly Guide for Social Scientists,
> Routledge: London.
> Do, J., Dieu, P.D. and Goodman S.E. (1996) Vietnam: Information Technology for the
> Transition, IEEE Computer, 29, 3, 88-89.
> Ferkiss, V.C. (1969) Technological Man: The Myth and Reality. The New York Times
> Company.
> Fiji Institute of Language and Culture: Annual Report (1986).
> Fiji TV1 (1999) Advertisement for Air Pacific, March.
> Fomichova, O.S. (2001) A Principal Cognitive Precondition of Successful Child-Computer
> Interactions in the Information Society, Educational Technology and Society, 4, 2,
> Guback, T.H. (1974) Films as International Business, Journal of Communication, 24, 90-101.
> Haviland, W. (1974) Anthropology: Holt, Rhinehard and Winston Inc.
> Hofstede, G. (1980) Culture> '> s Consequences, Sage: London.
> Moala, J., Rokovada, J., Kuridrani, L., Nacanaitaba, S., Tuimoala, S., Tabe, Teriba., &
> Gonolevu, T. (1999) The Challenges of Information Technology in the Pacific.
> Unpublished MBA Dissertation, University of the South Pacific.
> Olutimayin, J. (1989) The Impact of Computer Technology on Nigerian Culture, International
> Congress on Educatio n and Informatics: Strengthening, International Co-operation,
> UNESCO, Paris 12-21 April.
> Patton, M.Q. (1990) Qualitative Evaluation and Research Methods. Newbury Park: Sage
> Publications.
> Punnett, B.J. & Ricks, D. (1997) International Business (2nd Ed.), Oxford, UK; Blackwell
> Publishers.
> Reddy, M., Biman, C.P., Naidu, V., & Kumar S. (2001) The 2002 Fiji National Budget: A
> Nation in Search of Economic Growth and Stability; Working Paper No. 01/1, Centre
> for Development Studies, School of Social and Economic Development, University of
> the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji.
> Schein, E. (1986) Organisational Culture and Leadership; Jossey-Bass.
> Shore, B. (1998) IT Strategy: The Challenge of Over-Regulation, Culture, and Large Scale>
> Collaborations, Journal of Global Information Technology Management, 1, 1, 1-4.
> Talamua: The National News Magazine of Samoa; Vol. 6, (Aug. 1999).
> Takeuchi, F.K. (1981) Screen Power Cinema in the Pacific Islands: Pacific Perspective, The
> South Pacific Social Science Association, 1, 1.
> Tchogovadze, G. (1989) The Age of Informatics, International Congress on Education and
> Informatics: Strengthening International Co-operation, UNESCO, Paris, 12-21 April.
> William, R. (1974) Television: Technology and Culture. Allen Lane, London.
>
>
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu Dec 12 2002 - 08:00:42