During the last decade Samoa significantly reformed its telecommunications sector. It introduced a new competitor-Digicel-into the market, privatised the state-owned company SamoaTel (now Bluesky Samoa) and established an independent regulator. These reforms have had a dramatic impact on mobile usage in Samoa, and now mobile phones and regular Internet access have become an everyday (and affordable) reality for a vast majority of the population. This paper provides a critical account of one of the most mature mobile markets in the Pacific region. Drawing on semistructured key informant interviews with individuals in the Samoan telecommunications sector and the public service (conducted in April 2014), the paper explores the emergence of a Samoan digital culture, a transformation which has only been possible thanks to the widespread take up of mobile phones on 3G networks. We outline how mobiles are being used in Samoa, the ways in which they integrate (or don't) with existing social and cultural norms and discuss the wider infrastructural issues that have emerged in light of this increased usage. We end by reflecting on what the Samoan experience can tell us about telecommunications reform in developing countries more generally.
This paper reports on the findings of a 400 household survey which investigated what sources of information and technical medium Samoan citizens trust and act upon in times of disaster. Findings of the survey indicated the following. 1)The predominance and pervasiveness of mobile phones at 91% indicate its potential for use in any disaster response and relief interventions. 2) With only 34% of mobile phones being Smart phones: disaster preparedness, early warning and response interventions should target basic mobile phone sets. 3) With 65% of respondents using Face Book this social media should be considered as a possible avenue for lateral dissemination for early warning and disaster response. 4) The predominance of radio followed by TV as an important, trusted source of information which people act on indicate its important role in any emergency response interventions. Since these media are trusted sources they should be used extensively for dissemination of information for preparedness, early warning and disaster response. 5) Professional reporters are regarded by the majority as the most predominantly used, the most trusted and the most important source of information and news during an emergency. The findings of this survey generate important considerations towards a people centred early warning and disaster relief system. 1.INTRODUCTION While technology access has expanded worldwide, there is still limited research about how people use the technology available to them during crisis, and what the effects of varying socio-political and economic contexts are on the level of trust people place on information from different sources and technical mediums. The research documented in this paper draws on the literature on collective action problems and cooperation theory to develop a more nuanced understanding of how people use and share information across technological mediums during crises, using socio-political and economic factors to understand micro-level differences in information use and behavior.The current study focuses on ICT use during disasters in Samoa at the individual level. The main area of interest in this research is to understand how citizens act on different types of information and how the source of information affects their decisions to act. Since communication infrastructure is a "magnifier of human intent", there is a relationship between social capital, good governance, and how people act on different streams of information. The main goal of the research was to answer the following questions:1.What sources of information do Samoan citizens trust in times of disaster? 2.How do they act on different types of information and how does the source of information and technical medium affect their decisions to act in times of disaster?Identification of the sources of information and which sources affect people's decisions to act is important as it will inform what information sources people will trust and
Popular political attitudes surveys have been conducted globally for several decades, but the Pacific region remains an exception. This paper presents the findings of the first Pacific Attitudes Survey (PAS), conducted in Samoa from December 2020‐January 2021. Drawing on a nationally representative sample of Samoans of voting‐age (n = 1319) the PAS gauges the attitudes of ordinary Samoans to their democracy, levels of popular trust in institutions, attitudes towards the role of government, and to women's participation in politics. Findings reveal high levels of support for democracy and trust in democratic institutions. At the same time, popular political attitudes highlight a distinct model of Samoan democracy, in which respect for modern democratic norms is tempered and entwined with deeper traditions of Samoan community and identity.
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