Reseach Project on
Cultural Learning, Cognition and Cooperation
Village of Teci, Yasawa Island |
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Study foci |
Cultural Transmission Ethno marine ecology Social norms and cooperation Folksociology and kinship Thinking about chiefs History |
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Location Fiji Currently working on Yasawa Island in villages of Teci, Dalomo, and Bukama also in Totoya in the Moala Group |
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Ethnograhy and Experiments The project seeks to combine in-depth qualitative and quantitative ethnography with experiments, formal tasks, and biometric measurements. Behavioral experiments measure people's social preferences |
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Formal Tasks Pile sorts help us figure out how people categorize the marine ecology and understand relationships |
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All of our work integrate observation of daily life, collecting litoral food sources, with cognitive measures. Rob Boyd measures a moray eel (dabea) |
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We use
time allocation and variety of interview to track how people spend their
time, and who they hang out with |
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Research to done by Fijians, hire and trained in research techniques to assist with the project Here we see Joape Kuruyawa, currently the assistant project director, working with Yame Tuidama |
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Each year we take physical and health measures of everyone. Here Tanya, a graduate student in developmental psychology, is measuring blood pressure in Teci. Project is interdiscplinary. |
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We are interested in the transmission of cultural knowledge and are using network methods to map the pathways of cultural transmission A Cultural Learning Network for Knowledge about Growing Yams. The arrow indicates who a person would go to with a question about Yam growing. |
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Proposals that have funded this work |
National
Science Foundation PECASE National Science Foundation of the United States: Building a Program in Culture and Cogntion Hampton Research Grant |
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Construction
of the Laboratory for Culture and Cognition in Teci Village |
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The laboratory, which
can run 3 computers, is powered by solar panels |
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Samisoni
Nanovu is the current project director. Here he is interviewing Kelea outside of the school in Teci |
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2003 Project Team Joan Silk, Ruby Boyd, Josefa Ravuso, Joe Henrich, Rob Boyd, Mili Vukunisiga, Vilisi, Natalie Henrich (Nabukeru village) |
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2004 Project Team Joape Kuruyawa, Lusi Motoya, Joe Henrich |
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2005 Project Team Vaseva Kuru, uu, Joan Silk, Rob Boyd, Ruby Boyd, Joape Kuruyawa, Joe Henrich, Tanya Broesch, Samisoni Nanovu |
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2006 Project Team Tuwai, Naomi, Tanya Broesch, Joe Henrich, Samisoni Nanovu, Kesa, Semesa |
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2007 Project Team Joe Henrich, Samisoni Nanovu, Tepola, Semesa |
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2008 Project Team (Photo by Jale Nasegesege) |
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2009 Project Team (Photo by Jale Nasegesege)
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2010 Project Team
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2011 Project Team (Photo by Ame Tuidama)
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2012 Project Team
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