title: Internal Migration in Tonga, 2001 - 2011: A review of Migrant Flows and Characteristics

authors: Lolohea, Sione Foiakau

subjects: Internal Migration

abstract: This thesis examines Tonga’s internal migration between 2001 and 2011. Firstly, it provides an analysis of Tonga’s internal migration during that period and secondly it establishes whether the ‘drift south’ of Tonga’s population that was found in the 1970s is still the dominant flow.
 The Tonga Censuses of Population and Housing in 2006 and 2011 are the sources of data for the study. The analysis is presented in two parts: the spatial characteristics of Tonga’s internal migration between 2001 and 2006 and between 2006 and 2011, and the demographic characteristics of migrants during the same two periods. The spatial analysis explores four patterns of migration with reference to the major administrative divisions in Tonga:  within and between districts, within and between divisions, rural-urban migration, and migration between the Northern islands and Tongatapu to the south (the ‘drift south’).  Five demographic characteristics: - age and sex, marital status, education and qualifications, and occupation - are examined for migrants and non-migrants.
The analysis of internal migration in this thesis is the first substantive assessment of internal migration in Tonga for many years.  There has been a much stronger focus on international migration than internal migration in the Pacific region over the past two decades.  The findings from the study are important in the context of an on-going debate about the scale and pace of urbanisation in Pacific countries.  The research finds that there has been considerable stability in the patterns of population movement between the different administrative units in Tonga and that while urbanisation of the population continues, some of the major demographic changes linked with internal migration are occurring in rural Tongatapu.

text: Internal Migration in Tonga, 2001 - 2011: A review of Migrant Flows and Characteristics This thesis examines Tonga’s internal migration between 2001 and 2011. Firstly, it provides an analysis of Tonga’s internal migration during that period and secondly it establishes whether the ‘drift south’ of Tonga’s population that was found in the 1970s is still the dominant flow.
 The Tonga Censuses of Population and Housing in 2006 and 2011 are the sources of data for the study. The analysis is presented in two parts: the spatial characteristics of Tonga’s internal migration between 2001 and 2006 and between 2006 and 2011, and the demographic characteristics of migrants during the same two periods. The spatial analysis explores four patterns of migration with reference to the major administrative divisions in Tonga:  within and between districts, within and between divisions, rural-urban migration, and migration between the Northern islands and Tongatapu to the south (the ‘drift south’).  Five demographic characteristics: - age and sex, marital status, education and qualifications, and occupation - are examined for migrants and non-migrants.
The analysis of internal migration in this thesis is the first substantive assessment of internal migration in Tonga for many years.  There has been a much stronger focus on international migration than internal migration in the Pacific region over the past two decades.  The findings from the study are important in the context of an on-going debate about the scale and pace of urbanisation in Pacific countries.  The research finds that there has been considerable stability in the patterns of population movement between the different administrative units in Tonga and that while urbanisation of the population continues, some of the major demographic changes linked with internal migration are occurring in rural Tongatapu.

year: 2016

title: Improving road safety and health: Understandng kava's impact on driver fitness.

authors: Aporosa, S. 'Apo'

abstract: Kava (Piper methysticum) is a traditional and culturally significant Pacific Island beverage that produces a soporific relaxant effect. Kava’s psychopharmacological action is similar to the anti-anxiety drug Benzodiazepine. Traditional users often consume the kava drink at volumes as much as 30 times greater than pharmacologically recommended doses. Prompted by concerns regarding driver impairment post kava drinking, a study was undertaken replicating traditional kava sessions in terms of duration and kava consumption, to investigate the effects of kava on driving capability.
Kava consumers (n=20) attended two six-hour kava sessions, each participant drinking an average 3.52 litres of kava. A non-kava consuming control group (n=20) was included in the study. At baseline all the participants completed computerised industry standard driver safety assessment tests (Vienna Test System: Traffic WAFA Alertness and WAFG Divided Attention) to measure reaction time, perception and attention. Re-testing was conducted at hourly intervals over the six-hour period. Pre/post analysis compared person to person and between groups change. Statistical modeling was based on ANOVA, independent t-tests and Bayesian analysis.
Data analysis indicated no statistically significant (p<0.05) difference between reaction time and divided attention, both within individuals and between groups, at any measurement point over the six-hour testing period. The mean reaction time and divided attention time at the baseline measurement was 249.95msec (milliseconds) and 583.58msec respectively. The control and active group mean reaction time at the final test was 256.70msec and 271.8msec respectively. The mean divided attention times for the control and active groups at the final test were 499.75msec and 568.32msec.
Kava at traditional consumption volumes was not correlated to response latency or impairment on perception and attention tasks, when measured using authoritative driver assessment tests. From this it could be inferred that kava use at traditionally influenced consumption volumes does not compromise driver safety. However, it can be argued that current industry standard accepted cognitive measures of driver safety, assess impairment from the use of euphoric and hallucinogenic drug substances (such as alcohol and marijuana), and fail to account for kava’s unique form of ‘intoxication’. Further research beyond the assessment of these two cognitive functions is, it seems, desirable to better understand if kava has any effect on driver ability.
The study was funded by the Health Research Council of New Zealand (16/462) and the University of Waikato, and the test battery was generously donated by Vienna Tests Systems, Germany.

text: Improving road safety and health: Understandng kava's impact on driver fitness. Kava (Piper methysticum) is a traditional and culturally significant Pacific Island beverage that produces a soporific relaxant effect. Kava’s psychopharmacological action is similar to the anti-anxiety drug Benzodiazepine. Traditional users often consume the kava drink at volumes as much as 30 times greater than pharmacologically recommended doses. Prompted by concerns regarding driver impairment post kava drinking, a study was undertaken replicating traditional kava sessions in terms of duration and kava consumption, to investigate the effects of kava on driving capability.
Kava consumers (n=20) attended two six-hour kava sessions, each participant drinking an average 3.52 litres of kava. A non-kava consuming control group (n=20) was included in the study. At baseline all the participants completed computerised industry standard driver safety assessment tests (Vienna Test System: Traffic WAFA Alertness and WAFG Divided Attention) to measure reaction time, perception and attention. Re-testing was conducted at hourly intervals over the six-hour period. Pre/post analysis compared person to person and between groups change. Statistical modeling was based on ANOVA, independent t-tests and Bayesian analysis.
Data analysis indicated no statistically significant (p<0.05) difference between reaction time and divided attention, both within individuals and between groups, at any measurement point over the six-hour testing period. The mean reaction time and divided attention time at the baseline measurement was 249.95msec (milliseconds) and 583.58msec respectively. The control and active group mean reaction time at the final test was 256.70msec and 271.8msec respectively. The mean divided attention times for the control and active groups at the final test were 499.75msec and 568.32msec.
Kava at traditional consumption volumes was not correlated to response latency or impairment on perception and attention tasks, when measured using authoritative driver assessment tests. From this it could be inferred that kava use at traditionally influenced consumption volumes does not compromise driver safety. However, it can be argued that current industry standard accepted cognitive measures of driver safety, assess impairment from the use of euphoric and hallucinogenic drug substances (such as alcohol and marijuana), and fail to account for kava’s unique form of ‘intoxication’. Further research beyond the assessment of these two cognitive functions is, it seems, desirable to better understand if kava has any effect on driver ability.
The study was funded by the Health Research Council of New Zealand (16/462) and the University of Waikato, and the test battery was generously donated by Vienna Tests Systems, Germany.

year: 2018

title: The timing of the human discovery and colonization of New Zealand

authors: Sutton, Douglas G.

abstract: In discriminating between the proposed Long, Short and Intermediate Chronologies for New Zealand prehistory, archaeologists have recently voted by a narrow majority that the human commensal, Rattus exulans, was present in New Zealand up to 2000 years BP, although the preferred date of ‘first settlement’ by people was ca 800 years BP. A recalibration of New Zealand chronometric data has resulted in reinterpretations of the date and duration of occupation on critical archaeological sites. A remodelling of the ages of the putatively earliest sites in New Zealand has shown these to indicate only a broadly defined period when settlement occurred rather than the date when New Zealand was discovered (as the Short Chronology advocates have insisted). Finally, comparisons with archaeological research on islands elsewhere in the world have brought with them recognition that the discovery, exploration, initial settlement and colonization of New Zealand by Polynesian voyagers were broadly consecutive processes. This paper reviews a range of current evidence in the context of its current theorization and affirms the Long Chronology, recognizing it as the most plausible hypothesis.

text: The timing of the human discovery and colonization of New Zealand In discriminating between the proposed Long, Short and Intermediate Chronologies for New Zealand prehistory, archaeologists have recently voted by a narrow majority that the human commensal, Rattus exulans, was present in New Zealand up to 2000 years BP, although the preferred date of ‘first settlement’ by people was ca 800 years BP. A recalibration of New Zealand chronometric data has resulted in reinterpretations of the date and duration of occupation on critical archaeological sites. A remodelling of the ages of the putatively earliest sites in New Zealand has shown these to indicate only a broadly defined period when settlement occurred rather than the date when New Zealand was discovered (as the Short Chronology advocates have insisted). Finally, comparisons with archaeological research on islands elsewhere in the world have brought with them recognition that the discovery, exploration, initial settlement and colonization of New Zealand by Polynesian voyagers were broadly consecutive processes. This paper reviews a range of current evidence in the context of its current theorization and affirms the Long Chronology, recognizing it as the most plausible hypothesis.

year: 2008