In light of the positive growing finance–private sector–economic growth findings, this article examines, from a supply side perspective, obstacles to private sector financing in Fiji, a growth deprived, small island developing state in the Pacific region. A survey of 80 percent of formal financial institutions reveals that, contrary to popular belief, financing the private sector may not be a m...

Daily flow records, rainfall data and tropical cyclone maps during 19701998 are used to document the impact of tropical cyclones (TCs) on floods in the Rewa River system, Viti Levu, Fiji. Floods are large, brief, isolated events caused by TCs and non-TC tropical rainstorms. More floods are caused by tropical rainstorms than by TCs, but TC floods are larger. The log Pearson Type III distribution...

1 Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA, 2 Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD, Australia, 3 School of Civil Engineering, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia, 4 School of Geography, Planning, and Environmental Management, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Austral...

Pacific Economic Bulletin Volume 21 Number 2 2006 © Asia Pacific Press This article assesses the magnitude of expected financial gains and the nature of incentives that a performance payment based contractual system may offer in a segmented sugar industry such as Fiji’s. A performance payment system (PPS), such as the Atherton system, could give all industry stakeholders incentives to improve p...

AIMS To establish the presence or absence of trachoma in the Pacific Island region. METHODS Trachoma Rapid Assessment methodology was used in Kiribati, Nauru, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Fiji. Advised by key informants, high-risk communities were chosen from each country. All available children aged 1-9 years and adults > or = 40 years were examined. RESULTS A total of 903 adults > or = 40...

Introduction. An absolute lymphocyte count is commonly used as an alternative to a CD4 count to determine initiation of antiretroviral therapy for HIV-infected individuals in Fiji when a CD4 count is unavailable. Methods. We conducted a retrospective analysis of laboratory results of HIV-infected individuals registered at all HIV clinics in Fiji. Results. Paired absolute lymphocyte and CD4 coun...

As journalists experiment with developing immersive journalism—first-person, interactive experiences of news events—guidelines are needed to help bridge a disconnect between the requirements of journalism and the capabilities of emerging technologies. Many journalists need to better understand the fundamental concepts of immersion and the capabilities and limitations of common immersive technol...

Delineating barriers to connectivity is important in marine reserve design as they describe the strength and number of connections among a reserve's constituent parts, and ultimately help characterize the resilience of the system to perturbations at each node. Here we demonstrate the utility of multi-taxa phylogeography in the design of a system of marine protected areas within Fiji. Gathering ...

Primary commodities are important exports for Fiji, contributing around 60 to 65 percent to total export receipts. Prices of primary commodities have been very unstable, subject to both secular and temporary fluctuations, which in turn, has given rise to unevenness in the value of export earnings and reserve levels. To date, there has not been any empirical evidence on the influence of commodit...

The aim of this study was to describe the attitudes and perceptions of primary health care doctors in Fiji regarding the importance of eye care in diabetes mellitus (DM) management, to explore current eye care practice, and to investigate awareness and use of relevant clinical practice guidelines. The study builds on earlier research conducted in Fiji that identified a rapid increase of late-st...