Ethics, Reciprocity and Positionality

The ethics section describes the procedures required to for conducting research that includes human subjects, particularly the Massey in-house ethics review, and the disclosure and permission process from the field. Section 7.5.2 covers the concept of reciprocity, an important element of social research, and of particular importance in the Pacific. Another important ethical consideration in qualitative research is the

positionality of the researcher, to be explored in section 7.5.3.

6.5.1 Ethics

This research complied with Massey University’s Human Ethics Committee (MUHEC) requirements. (Massey University, 2015). The approval process included an in-house ethics review with three academics from the development studies programme, who asked detailed questions to establish my understanding of the local context and my Pacific cultural awareness and preparedness This also included a discussion of the ethical issues that must be considered when doing research with human subjects, and concerns related to the general well-being and privacy of the participants. As a result, the research was considered to be low-risk, and a low risk notification went forward to MUHEC.

When in the field all interviewed participants were provided with an information sheet, in English, describing the research (Appendix 2) and a consent form to complete (Appendix 3). An attempt was made to have these documents translated into Bislama,

but it quickly became apparent that this would not be necessary, so I used the English copy.

6.5.2 Reciprocity

An essential element of ethical research is reciprocity, or the sharing of the research with those involved. Not only is this important ethically, it is also important culturally. Massey's recent publication of 'Pacific research guidelines and protocols' was extremely helpful in this regard as it describes best-practice Pacific based research protocols for researchers (Meo-Sewabu, Hughes, & Stewart-Withers, 2016).

The granting of a research visa in Vanuatu constitutes both permission and obligation. A copy of the research visa is contained in Appendix 4. As a moratorium on research visas had been in place for more than one year prior to this application in 2017, some doubt existed around the granting of this visa. The research visa was granted on arrival and constitutes an agreement between Vanuatu's Cultural Council and the researcher to conduct research ethically and with consideration to Vanuatu kastom. Kastom is a Bislama term derived from the English 'custom' that refers to traditional Melanesian religion, economics, art, culture and law (Lindstrom & White, 1994). This agreement requires that the results of the research are of benefit to the people of Vanuatu and requires that the researcher produce a document explaining the research results in clear 'layman’s' language that can be of beneficial use to the community. As I received

research funding from MFAT I have a similar obligation to share my findings in a policy report.

One element of reciprocity was providing gifts for my informants as a small gesture of thanks. Before departing for Vanuatu, a quantity of NZ chocolate, some soccer balls and NZ themed reusable shopping bags were purchased as thankyou gifts. A Vanuatu based

contact advised me that soccer balls made an appropriate community gift, able to be shared equally amongst children. Four were purchased, but only three were gifted as intended. The last soccer ball was intended for Port Vila but ended up donated to the hotel staff when departing earlier than scheduled. Chocolate was used for brief interviews and to thank those who had been very helpful. Shopping bags were combined with chocolate, to those who gave more of their time. In addition,

personalised thank you cards with contact details were given. When my partner was visiting he cooked 'thankyou dinners' for two key informants.

6.5.3 Positionality

In qualitative research the subjective positionality of the researcher is acknowledged as the prime 'instrument' of the data collection (Stewart-Withers et al., 2014, p. 60). As the interviews took a hermeneutic aspect my positionality was central to the research and was a significant influence on the research, therefore it is important to reflect on that position. As a tourism 'insider' from the developing world context I was able to form an immediate rapport with those working in Vanuatu's tourism industry (Bengry, 2017). 'Insider' or 'outsider' status is highly contextual, dependant on time and place in the field and "constructed and positioned by field participants" (2017, p. 166).

Reflections from my field diary record how challenging I found it to simply observe, when my natural response is to 'fix'. In development, and especially in development research, 'fixing' is highly problematic, and comes with colonial baggage (Mura & Pahlevan Sharif, 2015). In this research my greatest personal challenge has been to set aside my tourism background to focus on development theory. Although posing a personal challenge, my tourism history was an advantage, drawing me towards tourism

informants. However, there are also particular issues in relation to my professional background and outsider status…

Although a tourism insider, I am a Pacific 'outsider', new to both the Pacific culture and cruise tourism. Before departing for Vanuatu, I read extensively on both topics,

combining novels, tourism websites and published academic texts. But, reading is no substitute for reality and the lived Vanuatu experience has been critical to this study.

Another 'outsider' positionality is as a white, female, foreign researcher with no ties to the local community. From this position it was more challenging to initiate relationships with the Luganville Ni-Vanuatu community as I had limited time and no personal connections. Through the Sanma tourism department I did meet Ni-Vanuatu people who were directly involved in the tourism industry and spent time, particularly on cruise arrival days, speaking with them. However, I acknowledge that its likely they viewed me as a transient outsider, one of the many white women who travel to Vanuatu to 'do development' or research.

Overall it was the experience of being able to observe daily life on Santo both with, and without cruise ships, that proved to be most informative. It was valuable to understand that Santo is not dependant on the ships, but their presence is highly valued. Local informants knew very little of Carnival's CSR or PPP initiatives, but this formed a finding and the first-hand observations of the preparations, arrival and aftereffects of a cruise ship visit informs my understanding of how cruise CSR and PPP initiatives influence development for Vanuatu.