Effects of Market Participation on Community Perceived Adaptive
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EFFECTS OF MARKET PARTICIPATION ON COMMUNITY PERCEIVED ADAPTIVE CAPACITY AND RESILIENCE IN RURAL SAMOA by JONATHAN BRENT VICKERS (Under the direction of Donald R. Nelson) ABSTRACT This dissertation determines the effects of increased market participation on perceived adaptive capacity and resilience in the village of Falealupo, Samoa. Approaching the intellectually challenging problem of resilience from the perspectives of local community members, the researcher produced mixed sets of quantitative and qualitative data on local adaptive capacity. First, the research discussed recent droughts and cyclones with community members. Then, the researcher used the analysis of these interviews to develop contextual variables of adaptive capacity, including variables that measured household participation in the market and household social capital. The research then measured perceived household adaptive capacity in each of the households. Statistical comparison of the variables suggested that increased market participation was not associated with a reduction in the size of household’s social capital, measured in terms of locally-based immediate family members. A qualitative analysis of household social networks likewise suggested that economic has influenced a change in the sphere of a household’s social network from the extended kinship group to the immediate family, but that kinship plays a large role in promoting adaptive capacity in rural villages. The findings of this study are important because they demonstrate that role that local social institutions play in shaping the interactions between variables of adaptive capacity. The findings also suggest that community members’ perspectives of resilience can be used to produce contextual variables to measure economic and social attributes of adaptive capacity. INDEX WORDS: Social dimensions of environmental change, social-ecological resilience, adaptive capacity, social capital, increased market participation, mixed- subsistence households, Samoa, Pacific Islands EFFECTS OF MARKET PARTICIPATION ON COMMUNITY PERCEIVED ADAPTIVE CAPACITY AND RESILIENCE IN RURAL SAMOA by JONATHAN BRENT VICKERS BA, University of California, Berkeley, 2002 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ATHENS, GEORGIA 2015 ©2015 Jonathan Brent Vickers All Rights Reserved EFFECTS OF MARKET PARTICIPATION ON COMMUNITY PERCEIVED ADAPTIVE CAPACITY AND RESILIENCE IN RURAL SAMOA by JONATHAN BRENT VICKERS Major Professor: Donald R. Nelson Committee: Bram Tucker Julie Velásquez Runk Paul Shankman Electronic Version Approved: Suzanne Barbour Dean of Graduate School The University of Georgia December 2015 DEDICATION To my mother and sisters for their endless love and support. To my father, ia manuia lou malaga. And to my wife, alofa ia ʻoe, I will always love you. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wrote this dissertation with strong guidance and support from many amazing people. First, I would like to thank my advisor, Don Nelson, for his mentorship. He challenged me to think critically, and he always demonstrated enormous patience and understanding. Calling from Brazil to Samoa in order to discuss my research methods with me is just one example of his outstanding commitment. I would also to thank my committee members: Paul Shankman, Bram Tucker, and Julie Velásquez Runk. Each provided their specialized insight into this dissertation, and their helpful comments have been invaluable contributions to my professional development. I would also like to thank my research assistants in Falealupo: Sene Iosefa, Filipo Mapusaga, and Puʻa Lava. Without their help and friendship, I could not have completed this project. Thank you also to everyone else in Falealupo village who gave me, my wife, and my friends their love and warmth. Tuitoga Ben Leavai and his family were especially generous with their contributions of food and friendship. Thank you to Peni Leavai and the rest of the Leavai family in Apia for connecting me with their family in Falealupo, and for providing me with such a wonderful place to live. Annie and I will always consider our time living together in Falealupo as one of the happiest times in our lives. Thank you to Jordan Sims, Scott Tupper, and Pierre Naudé for their help and friendship while in Falealupo. We may have starved if not for your fishing skills. And lastly, thank you to my family and my wife, Annie, for their unconditional love and support throughout this entire process. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................................v LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................... ix LIST OF FIGURES .........................................................................................................................x CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................1 1.1 Introduction .........................................................................................................1 1.2 Anthropology and Adaptation ............................................................................6 1.3 Vulnerability, Resilience, and Adaptive Capacity ............................................12 1.4 Adaptation and Adaptive Capacity in the Pacific Islands Region ....................22 1.5 Structure of Dissertation ...................................................................................27 References ...................................................................................................................30 2 RESEARCH SITE AND METHODS .............................................................................40 2.1 Historical Context of Samoa .............................................................................40 2.2 Contemporary Samoa and Falealupo ................................................................48 2.3 Research Methods .............................................................................................55 References ...................................................................................................................58 3 DEVELOPING VARIABLES OF COMMUNITY-PERCEIEVED ADAPTIVE CAPACITY.....................................................................................................................61 3.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................63 3.2 Background on Adaptive Capacity ...................................................................66 vi 3.3 Common Strategies for Assessing Adaptive Capacity .....................................69 3.4 Research Site and Methods ...............................................................................72 3.5 Results from First Phase Interviews .................................................................76 3.6 Results from Second Phase Semi-Structured Interviews ..................................79 3.7 Results from Third Phase Structured Interviews ..............................................84 3.8 Discussion .........................................................................................................88 3.9 Conclusion ........................................................................................................92 References ...................................................................................................................92 4 MORE MONEY, MORE FAMILY: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HIGHER LEVELVS OF MARKET PARTICIPATION AND SOCIAL CAPITAL IN THE CONTEXT OF ADAPTIVE CAPACITY IN SAMOA .................................................98 4.1 Introduction .....................................................................................................100 4.2 Site Selection and Research Methods .............................................................104 4.3 Defining Household and Market Participation in Samoa ...............................106 4.4 Defining Social Capital in Context of Adaptive Capacity in Samoa..............109 4.5 Comparing Household Variables ....................................................................112 4.6 Qualitative Analyses of Variables ..................................................................116 4.7 Discussion .......................................................................................................118 4.8 Conclusion ......................................................................................................122 References ................................................................................................................123 5 IMMEDIATE FAMILY FIRST: EFFECTS OF MARKET PARTICIPATION ON ADAPTIVE CAPACITY AND RESILIENCE IN RURAL SAMOA .........................128 5.1 Introduction .....................................................................................................130 vii 5.2 Adaptive Capacity and Social Capital ............................................................133 5.3 Adaptive Capacity in Pre-Market Samoa .......................................................135 5.4 Market Participation and Social Change in Samoa ........................................138 5.5 Research Site and Methods .............................................................................141 5.6 Resource Exchange Networks ........................................................................144