Editorial Note
Education issues have been at the forefront of the challenges Papua New Guinea has had to face over the last two decades. Having to rely on decreasing resources and increasing demands, tertiary institutions in this country are struggling to fulfil their basic duties to provide higher education services and conduct academic research. Of the two, it is the academic research that has been most effected by budget cuts and lack of resources.
Divine Word University, involved in the changing of the higher education landscape in PNG since 1996, has sought to face the challenges of the system, assess its needs and positively contribute to its future development. One of the first steps in this direction is the creation of the Contemporary PNG Studies: DWU Research Journal that aims to foster a research culture in the academic community of DWU and those associated with it. We consider research vital to the healthy growth of higher education in this country and hope that the journal will provide a forum for discussion and sharing of ideas.
In this inaugural volume, the first two articles focus on DWU to address issues of educational vision and leadership. Jan Czuba , President of the university, considers the role of the founding religious community, the laity, the council and the students in fulfilling the mission of a Christian university in PNG, while Michael McManus investigates the Communication Arts curriculum over the years to see whether it is meeting the real needs of the country, or simply acquiescing to the demands of the dominant mainstream media.
Dick Rooney 's research into whether the country's only home-based television channel meets the informational and developmental needs of the nation provides a link, then, with the following articles that address issues of PNG history, spirituality, law, and linguistic and cultural diversity. Maurice McCallum surveys nearly five centuries of references to the origin and meaning of the word ‘papua'. Catherine Nongkas and Alfred Tivinarlik explore Melanesian spirituality as the society transits from traditional subsistence to a more technological and sophisticated life style. Patrick Howley takes up the same theme of societal change posing the question of whether there can be a synthesis of customary law and Westminster justice. Douglas Young, John Gui and Joseph Lakane examine a process of social integration between immigrants and landowner communities suggesting that the ideas learned from this study may help foster unity on a national basis. Finally, Pat Gesch concludes our first volume with insights into the socio-cultural dynamics of the Sepik settlement of Public Tank near Madang.
We believe this collection of articles forms a solid beginning to DWU's commitment to investigation in the form of a research journal. We were very encouraged by the number of submissions indicating a great degree of interest in publishing locally on matters of importance to PNG. Finally, we would like to thank the contributors for sharing their ideas and having patience during the long editing process, as well as the DWU council for approving the funds to launch this first edition of the Contemporary PNG Studies: DWU Research Journal.
Pam Norman, Daniel J. Stollenwerk, Evangelia Papoutsaki, Patricia Morris
Return to Volume 1 - DWU Research Journal
