Fulton Adventist University Interdisciplinary Journal
Fulton Adventist University Interdisciplinary Journal (FAUIJ) is a biannual academic journal handled by the Department of Research. It is an international, peer-reviewed journal that publishes research articles, case studies, book reviews, work-in-progress articles, and conference reports that emphasize unique intellectual developments in Interdisciplinary studies. FAUIJ provides a platform of academic exchange for scholars, practitioners, and readers in the South Pacific Division and beyond in various fields and viewpoints, including business, education, philosophy, health, theology, and practical studies. Each author is responsible for the correct use and referencing of the material used in the composition of his/her article. The editorial board is not liable for the consequences of any academic dishonesty committed by a contributor to this journal. The ideas expressed in the articles and book reviews are the entire responsibility of the authors and do not represent the thinking of the members of the Fulton Adventist University community.
The Sabbath, Samoa, and The International Date Line: An Explanation of Seventh-day Sabbath Observance Practices in the South Pacific, by Amos Dowle. Hamilton, NZ: Wattlebird Publishing, 2024. 168 pp. ISBN 978-0-473-72433-7. Paperback.
Copyright (c) 2026 Fulton Adventist University Interdisciplinary Journal
“Christianized or Civilized? Repentance, Sanctification, Culture, Dual Allegiance, and the First Century of Missionary Transformation in the Solomon Islands”
This article examines whether Christian mission in Solomon Islands should be evaluated chiefly as Christianization or as a civilizing project. It argues that the difference cannot be settled by visible indicators such as baptisms, schools, clinics, denominational allegiance, mission stations, imported clothing, church buildings, or Western habits. Biblically, Christianization must be measured by repentance, faith, baptism, discipleship, sanctification, undivided allegiance to Christ, and a communal life re-ordered under His lordship (Matt. 28:18–20; Acts 2:3747; Rom. 12:1–2; Eph. 4:17–24; Gal. 5:16–25). Historically, missionary work in the Solomon Islands generated real Christian institutions and indigenous Christian agency, but it also carried civilising assumptions, colonial discipline, denominational competition, and imported patterns of respectability. Using biblical-theological criteria, contextualisation theory, anthropological work on kastom, and Hofstede, Hofstede, and Minkov’s layered account of culture, the article evaluates the first century of missionary transformation in Anglican, South Sea Evangelical, Seventh-day Adventist, and wider Solomon Islands contexts. It gives particular attention to dual allegiance and syncretism, arguing that these should not be confused with faithful contextualization or with kastom as such. Authentic Christianization reaches the deepest level of values and allegiance—land, kinship, power, gender, reconciliation, worship, spiritual fear, truth-telling, moral desire, and public responsibility—rather than stopping at symbols, heroes, rituals, or institutional membership. The article, therefore, commends critical contextualization: Scripture judges every culture, including missionary culture, while the gospel is translated into local life through repentance, discipleship, and Spirit-shaped community.
“Creating a Conducive Environment for Growth from a Biblical Perspective”
Creating a conducive environment for retention and holistic growth in the Adventist Church is indispensable. Losing new members to the world after many years of labor is painstakingly unbearable. This article explores the biblical principles for creating an environment that fosters retention and growth. In light of SPD For Christ, every church in the SPD must create space for growth while embarking on efforts to reach the unreached.
“From Surface Conflict to Root Assumptions: Using Kwast’s Culture Model as a Theological Tool for Resolving Bible-Version Disputes in the Church”
Bible-version disputes often appear to be arguments about wording, translation preference, or loyalty to a trusted edition. In congregational settings; however, the visible debate may be the outer layer of a deeper theological conflict involving assumptions about inspiration, preservation, authority, certainty, and trust. This article argues that Lloyd Kwast’s four-layer culture model can serve as a theological diagnostic tool for pastors, teachers, and church leaders seeking to address such conflicts faithfully. Although Kwast developed the model for mission and intercultural understanding, its shift from behaviour to values, beliefs, and worldview helps diagnose intrachurch theological disputes because doctrinal positions often function as meaning systems sustained by loyalties, fears, assumptions, and communal habits. Using KJV-onlyism as a case study, the article distinguishes the grateful use of the King James Version from the conscience-binding claim that a single English edition alone constitutes the preserved Word of God in English. It then tests KJVonly assumptions against Scripture’s witness to inspiration and preservation in 2 Timothy 3:16–17; 2 Peter 1:20–21; Luke 1:1–4; Jeremiah 36; Proverbs 25:1; and the New Testament’s use of the Septuagint. The study concludes with a Kwast-informed pastoral process that moves from diagnosis to discipleship. The aim is clarity with charity: to uphold biblical authority, correct false assumptions, and strengthen congregational unity through Scripture-centered formation.
“Of One Accord: The Holy Spirit’s Unifying Work and the Church’s Global Mission in Acts 1-2”
This article argues that Acts 1-2 presents the Holy Spirit as the divine power of witness and as the one who forms the ecclesial unity. within which that witness becomes credible, intelligible, and enduring. The study tightens the common appeal to “one accord” by distinguishing the secure occurrence of homothymadon in Acts 1:14 from the wording of Acts 2:1 in the critical Greek text, while still showing that Acts 2 continues the narrative picture of a gathered, obedient, prayerful community. Through exegetical, biblical-theological, and missiological analysis, the article traces the sequence from Christ’s promise of the Spirit to prayerful waiting, to Pentecostal proclamation, to the communal practices in Acts 2:42-47. It then tests the thesis against later episodes of conflict and expansion in Acts 4, 6, 10-11, 13, and 15, arguing that Spirit-given unity is not uniformity, coercion, or institutional sameness, but reconciled participation in Christ’s mission across linguistic, ethnic, cultural, and organizational boundaries. The study further places this Lukan pattern in conversation with Adventist pneumatology, especially Pentecost as former rain and the latter-rain hope. It applies to contemporary Pacific mission and theological collaboration. The article concludes that the church’s global witness is weakened when unity is reduced to administration, sentiment, or silence, and strengthened when the Spirit creates truth-filled, prayerful, culturally discerning, and missionally ordered communion.
“The Sabbath and Civil Day Names in Tonga: A Practical-Theological Study of Adventist Ecclesial Unity”
The Sabbath question in Tonga is often treated as a technical dispute about the International Date Line or the civil name given to the day on which Seventh-day Adventists worship. Those matters are important, yet they do not fully explain why the issue can trouble conscience, strain congregational relationships, and weaken public understanding. This article examines the issue as a practical-theological and ecclesiological challenge. It argues that faithful Adventist leadership requires more than a correct account of sacred sequence and civil time. It requires biblical teaching, communal discernment, contextual communication, pastoral accompaniment, and restorative accountability. Scripture provides the normative horizon; official Adventist statements, the 2025 Church Manual, historical materials on Tonga and the South Pacific dateline question, and scholarship in practical theology, contextual theology, reconciliation, and Christian formation clarify the ecclesial task. The study does not present an ethnographic profile of a particular congregation, independent group, or dispute. It evaluates the conditions under which a Sabbath question becomes divisive and identifies practices through which a church can preserve truth, conscience, unity, and credible witness. Its central conclusion is that the appropriate Adventist response in Tonga is neither civil-label absolutism nor private chronological calculation. It is a Scripture-governed, locally accountable, pastorally patient pattern of discernment that strengthens members for worship, fellowship, and mission.
Local Reckoning and Public Witness: An Adventist Hermeneutic for Sabbath Observance in Tonga.
The Sabbath question in Tonga is often framed as a local dispute over whether Seventh-day Adventists should worship on Saturday or Sunday. That framing is pastorally understandable but theologically inadequate, because it allows civil day names to carry more interpretive weight than Scripture gives them. This article offers a distinct contribution to the Tonga Sabbath discussion by developing a hermeneutic of local communal reckoning and public witness. It argues that biblical Sabbath identity is established by divine sanctification, the six-plus-one weekly sequence, and local evening-to-evening observance, not by an English weekday label or by a humanly administered date-line arrangement. At the same time, the article does not treat civil language as insignificant. In Tonga, the word 'Sāpate' carries a strong public Christian meaning, while 'Tokonaki' denotes civil Saturday; therefore, Adventist witness requires semantic care and theological conviction. After situating the study within existing South Pacific Adventist literature, the article defines key terms, examines the biblical evidence, considers Tonga’s public religious setting, evaluates common objections, and proposes five disciplines for faithful communication: scriptural sequence, local continuity, communal recognition, semantic transparency, and gospel-shaped witness. The conclusion is that Adventists in Tonga should describe their practice not as Sunday sacredness, but as seventh-day Sabbath faithfulness within a local civil calendar whose public names require careful explanation.
“The Unchangeable Sabbath and Changeable Civil Day Names: A Biblical-Theological Study of Tonga’s Date-Line Context”
This article examines the theological question posed by Seventh-day Adventist Sabbath observance in Tonga, where the period historically observed as the seventh-day Sabbath is known in civil life as Sunday. It argues that the Sabbath’s identity is established by God’s creative sanctification and the biblical six-plus-one sequence, not by a universal civil weekday label. The study follows a biblical-theological method, placing the creation narrative, the manna account, the Decalogue, the prophets, Jesus’ Sabbath teaching, and the Passion-week sequence in conversation with the history of civil timekeeping and the International Date Line. It then considers Tonga as a focused South Pacific test case. The article does not offer a linguistic study of Tongan terminology or a pastoral programme for congregational conflict. Its narrower contribution is doctrinal: it distinguishes sacred sequence from civil nomenclature. It argues that civil calendars coordinate public life without acquiring authority to sanctify, desanctify, or transfer the seventh-day Sabbath. On this account, the civil name Sunday in Tonga does not, by itself, establish first-day sacredness. The relevant theological question is whether the worshipping community preserves the biblical seventh-day rhythm in its local reckoning. The Tonga case therefore clarifies, rather than dissolves, the Adventist distinction between God-given sacred time and humanly administered civil time.
“Conscience After Calendar Reform: Prophetic Memory and Communal Repair in Samoa’s Sabbath Controversy”
Samoa’s 2011 International Date Line reform unsettled more than public dates. For Seventh-day Adventists, it activated inherited Sabbath language, prophetic memory, conscience, trust, and communal belonging. This article interprets the post-reform controversy as a pastoral-theological crisis of conscience and communion. It does not reconsider the legal mechanics of the date-line shift in detail, nor does it repeat a general defence of the seventh-day Sabbath. Instead, using documentary practical-theological analysis, it examines how a civil change in public day names can produce moral dissonance within a community whose identity has long been shaped by contrast between Sabbath faithfulness and Sunday sacredness. Scripture remains normative: the Sabbath is the seventh day sanctified by God, while conscience must be formed by Scripture, love, communal discernment, and the mission of the church. Drawing on New Testament teaching on conscience, correction, unity, and restoration, and on Samoan scholarship concerning fa‘a Samoa, relational authority, dialogue, service, and public theology, the article argues that communal repair requires truthful narration, patient conscience formation, disciplined dialogue, restorative correction, and public clarity. The Samoa case is distinct from Tonga’s day-name discussions because its central issue is the aftermath of a discrete calendar reform and the relational work required when that reform destabilises inherited prophetic imagination.
“Skipping a Civil Date: Samoa’s 2011 International Date Line Reform and Adventist Institutional Discernment”
Samoa’s 2011 relocation of the International Date Line created an unusual challenge for Seventh-day Adventist institutions discernment. The state moved directly from Thursday, 29 December 2011, to Saturday, 31 December 2011, for civil and economic purposes. This article examines the event as a legal-calendar transition and analyses the documented Adventist reasoning used to distinguish civil administration from Sabbath identity. It argues that the International Date Line Act changed standard time, public dates, and legal administration but did not create, destroy, or transfer sacred time. The study uses documentary theological case analysis, reading the Act alongside official South Pacific Division materials, contemporary denominational reporting, biblical scholarship, and scholarship on civil timekeeping and church authority. Its central finding is that responsible ecclesial discernment in a date-line context requires four disciplines: normative clarity about the seventh-day sequence, historical precision about what a civil reform did and did not change, documentary transparency in institutional decision-making, and public explanation capable of addressing predictable misunderstanding. The Samoa case is treated as a transition event rather than as a duplicate of Tonga’s longstanding civil-day naming anomaly. It demonstrates that a Sabbath-keeping church must preserve biblical continuity while explaining its reasoning in a way that members and the wider public can inspect.
Everyday Financial Resilience in Pacific Island Economies: Remittances, Payment Connectivity, and Household Agency
Pacific finance is often examined through government balance sheets, climate-finance flows, and public investment. Those lenses are important, but they do not explain the financial infrastructure through which households meet daily obligations and recover from disruption. This critical integrative review examines remittances, community risk sharing, financial inclusion, digital payments, correspondent banking, and crossborder payment connectivity in Pacific Island economies. It synthesises peer-reviewed research and verified institutional evidence through a three level framework: household and community finance; domestic financial systems; and international financial connectivity. The review finds that these levels are often studied in isolation, even though households experience them as a single chain. Remittances are most useful when they are affordable, rapid, and usable at the receiving end; digital services strengthen resilience only when access, trust, consumer protection, and operational continuity are present; and correspondent banking is a public interest infrastructure because it enables remittances, trade payments, aid flows, and foreign-exchange settlement. The article identifies a Pacific-centred agenda for research and policy that measures usable financial capability, examines gendered agency and communal obligations, safeguards payment continuity during shocks, and strengthens proportionate cross-border compliance. The analysis is deliberately separate from sovereign debt, climate finance, or capital-market design. Its concern is the everyday financial infrastructure that supports household dignity, agency, and recovery.
“Debt, Disaster Liquidity, and Blue-Green Capital: A Layered Finance Framework for Pacific Resilience”
Pacific Island countries must finance adaptation and disaster resilience under conditions of limited fiscal space, recurrent shocks, small project sizes, and restricted access to long-term capital. The central challenge is not simply the volume of climate finance, but the design of financing arrangements that match forms of capital to the economic character of resilience needs. This article sets out a layered finance framework for Pacific resilience. It differentiates grant and project-preparation finance for public goods and institutional capacity; concessional sovereign finance for durable public assets; contingent liquidity and risk-transfer instruments for rapid post-disaster response; credit-enhanced blue-green finance for investments with credible repayment capacity; and debt-for-climate or debt-for-nature transactions where they create material, transparent fiscal space. The article treats adaptation as sovereign risk reduction rather than as a universally bankable asset class. Its value often lies in avoided losses, continuity of public services, lower fiscal volatility, and protected livelihoods, not direct user charges. The framework therefore places debt discipline, maintenance, public financial management, independent review, and community legitimacy at the centre of capital mobilisation. The Pacific case demonstrates a broader sustainable-finance problem: capital is abundant globally, but it does not automatically reach climate-vulnerable states on terms that are compatible with scale, capacity, debt sustainability, and intergenerational equity.
“Are we Preparing Future Accountants for Sustainability? Content Analysis of Accounting Curricula in Fiji Using a New Institutional Theory Perspective”
This study examines the incorporation of sustainability accounting content within tertiary accounting curricula in Fiji’s context using new institutional theory. Sustainability issues have become a global concern, with stakeholders urging universities to integrate sustainability principles into teaching and research. However, the literature argues that the integration of sustainability within accounting education remains inconsistent with the pace of emerging sustainability challenges. The study employed a qualitative document analysis approach to examine the contents of the accounting programmes and accreditation guidelines. The findings revealed a gradual recognition of sustainability, but the integration of sustainability into accounting curricula does not demonstrate relevance. While coercive pressures are vague in mandating the incorporation of sustainability content, normative pressures appear to exert some influence through professional standards and accreditation guidelines. The study calls for better dialogue among stakeholders to embed sustainability accounting principles in core accounting courses and to establish clear policies that reflect their significance. This is expected to help prepare future graduates who can drive sustainable business practices.
“From Books to Bots: AI Tools, Reading Practices, and Physical Books Circulation at Fulton Adventist University Library”
This article examines changes in student information behaviour at the Fulton Adventist University Library in Fiji, with particular attention to the relationship between artificial intelligence (AI) tools, digital research habits, and declining physical book circulation. Using a descriptive institutional case-study approach, the article analyzes library circulation figures reported for 2019–2025 and interprets them alongside current scholarship on generative AI in higher education, digital reading, print reading, cognitive offloading, and academic literacy. The article does not claim that AI tools alone caused the decline in book borrowing. Rather, it argues that AI, electronic databases, post-pandemic study patterns, assignment design, and student convenience together form a changing information ecology in which books, databases, and AI tools now compete for students’ attention. The findings suggest the need for a balanced institutional response: students should be taught to use AI critically while continuing to practice deep reading, source evaluation, note-taking, and sustained engagement with scholarly books and peer-reviewed literature. The article proposes practical strategies for lecturers, librarians, and academic support staff to integrate AI literacy with reading development and library engagement.
“A Descriptive Analysis of the Adventist Membership Trends”
This descriptive study analyses Adventist membership trends in the Papua New Guinea Union Mission between 2014 and 2024. Drawing on annual denominational membership, baptism, attendance, and organizational data, it compares two quinquennial periods and assesses selected strategic-plan indicators. The findings identify uneven growth, substantial losses through missing and dropped members, limitations in reporting, and increasing pressures on pastoral care and church capacity. Although baptisms remained the principal source of membership growth, the exceptional increase associated with PNG for Christ in 2024 highlights the urgent need for stronger retention, discipleship, reporting, and pastoral-support systems. The study recommends clearer membership targets, strengthened Sabbath Schoolbased discipleship, improved accountability, and sustainable pastor-to church-to-member ratios..
“Opportunities and Challenges of Artificial Intelligence Usage in Education: A PRISMA-Based Systematic Review”
Persistent reading difficulty among primary learners has become a significant educational concern in Fiji. Public discussion often explains weak literacy through a single cause, whether teacher performance, learner effort, parental support, curriculum, or examination outcomes. This article argues that such explanations are inadequate. It reports an exploratory survey of 100 selected primary-school educators in Fiji and situates the findings within scholarship on dyslexia, reading development, systematic phonics, multilingual assessment, and inclusive education. The survey measured educators' self-reported perceptions of dyslexia, confidence in recognising dyslexia-related indicators, prior training, familiarity, and access to screening resources. Most respondents placed dyslexia in the survey's dyslexia category as a perceived contributor to low literacy among slow readers; however, only 22% reported confidence in identifying relevant signs, 38% reported prior dyslexia-related training, 43% reported familiarity with dyslexia, and 95% reported no clear school-level screening resource. These findings are not estimates of dyslexia prevalence, teacher competence, or national resource provision. Rather, they identify a substantial perceived gap between classroom need and educator preparedness in the surveyed group. The article concludes that an effective literacy response in Fiji integrates systematic early reading instruction, teacher preparation, culturally and linguistically responsive assessment, appropriate screening and referral pathways, and practical implementation of inclusive education policy. The analysis has relevance for multilingual, resource-constrained education systems confronting persistent reading difficulty without reducing the problem to blame.
“Beyond Introducing Phonics: Teacher Preparedness for Structured Early Reading Instruction in Fiji and the Pacific. A Conceptual and Practice-Oriented Framework for Fulton Adventist University’s Teacher-Education Contribution”
Concern about early reading achievement in Fiji and the wider Pacific has renewed attention to explicit, systematic, and evidence-based informed approaches to beginning reading instruction. Synthetic and structured phonics can strengthen decoding, spelling, and early wordreading development, but their effectiveness depends on teachers’ professional knowledge, classroom skills, and diagnostic confidence. This conceptual and practice-orientated article argues that Fiji’s early reading challenge is best understood not only as a programme-adoption issue but also as a teacher-preparedness concern. Drawing on Fiji’s Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (LANA) policy context, early reading research, teacher knowledge studies, Pacific multilingual realities, and Fulton Adventist University’s role in teacher education, the article develops a framework to assess and strengthen teacher preparedness for structured phonics instruction. Its contribution is deliberately narrower than broad regional assessment-to-practice discussions: it focuses on the professional knowledge and classroom competence required to teach early word reading systematically. The article proposes that teacher-education institutions can contribute through explicit pre-service coursework, practicum-based diagnostic reading tasks, in-service professional learning, ministry and school partnerships, and regional research. A mixed-methods study is outlined to examine the knowledge, skills, and confidence of lower-primary teachers in Fiji, together with evidence from lesson observations and teacher-education documents. The article concludes that assessment evidence can identify reading difficulties, while teacher education is central to whether teachers know how to respond effectively.
“Fiji and TPUM for Christ: Mission Strategies for the Fiji–Pacific Context”
This article argues that Adventist mission strategy must shift from broad, universal ideals to context-specific practice—from a “one size fits all” model to tailor-made approaches for Fiji and the wider Pacific. Building on Missio Dei, the Abrahamic vocation, and the Three Angels’ Messages, the paper identifies seven strategies suited to the region’s urban–village spectrum and communal cultures: (1) digital-to-local evangelism pathways, (2) Centers of Influence as neighborhood hubs, (3) small-group discipleship for retention and leadership development, (4) preaching and public evangelism, (5) Bible studies, (6) household/door-to-door ministry using community surveys, (7) church planting. The article concludes with a 12-month pilot plan for a Suva congregation (with quarterly checkpoints). It proposes a research agenda for measuring digital-to-baptism pathways, small-group retention, and community well-being outcomes. Crucially, the strategies presented apply not only to “Fiji for Christ” but also to “TPUM for Christ 2026,” aligning with this quinquennium while pointing forward to the mission in the years ahead.
Copyright (c) 2025 Fulton Adventist University Interdisciplinary Journal
“Servant Leadership in 1 Kings 11-12 and Its Relation to the Contemporary Leadership Trend among the Asantes in Ghana”
The concept of servant leadership and its implications pervade the contemporary world. This article explores servant leadership in the context of 1 Kings 11-12 and its relation to the contemporary leadership of the Asantes in Ghana. The study points out that service is perceptibly the heart of leadership, and true service to God comes with a reward. Service in leadership finds its climax in solving human dissatisfaction, as in the case of the people of Israel and among the Asantes. The one who serves God and His people faithfully and diligently in the local setting will be rewarded, and the people will come to serve him or her in turn.
“Sustaining the Mission: Evangelism, Discipleship, and Endurance in 2 Timothy 2:2, 3-10, and 24-26”
The second chapter of Paul’s final epistle to Timothy offers a powerful framework for sustaining the gospel mission across generations. Written in the context of suffering, false teaching, and the looming threat of apostolic absence, 2 Timothy 2 articulates a vision of evangelism that is inseparably linked to discipleship and strengthened through endurance. This paper presents an exegetical and theological analysis of the chapter, focusing on three key dimensions: the reproducible model of discipleship in verse 2, the call to endure hardship as a faithful witness in verses 3-10, and the spirit-filled character of the evangelist outlined in verses 24-26. Through careful attention to the literary and historical context, this study argues that sustainable evangelism is not merely proclamation but the formation of faithful, enduring witnesses who multiply the gospel through lives shaped by grace, truth, and perseverance. The model in 2 Timothy 2 offers a compelling paradigm for contemporary evangelistic practice in a post-Christian, pluralistic world.
“Christ Our ‘Ie Tōga: Contextualising Atonement Theology in Samoan Adventist Culture”
This article explores a contextual theology of atonement using the ‘ie tōga (fine mat) as a cultural symbol of covering, reconciliation, and honour in Samoan society. It reads biblical texts about clothing, covering, priestly mediation, and peace through the lens of ifoga (formal reconciliation). It suggests that Jesus is the ultimate ‘ie tōga—the covering of righteousness, the mediator of peace, and the restorer of broken relationships. The paper also addresses a practical issue in Samoan Adventism: early missionaries banned the ‘ie tōga in church life. This ban arose from fear of syncretism and concerns that ifoga might bypass justice in serious crimes. We argue that the misuse of ‘ie tōga in the ifoga ceremony should not negate honourable, biblically grounded uses as a teaching tool. After examining the cultural meanings of the mat and the themes of covering, mediation, and peace in the Bible, a policy framework and guidelines are provided as a roadmap for SDA members in the SamoaTokelau Mission and those living abroad. The goal is for a solution that is theologically sound and pastorally feasible: Christ saves; the mat explains—without ritualising it, attributing spiritual power to it, or displacing legal or pastoral accountability.
“Untrained Teachers: Challenges Faced by Unqualified Teachers in Pacific Island Classrooms”
This article argues that remote and underserved communities in the Pacific Islands recognise that unqualified teachers play an important role in sustaining access to education in their various classrooms. Therefore, upgrading teachers’ qualifications is vital in achieving the inclusivity and quality education, thereby helping the Pacific region experience quality ‘education for all’ with interventions, strong policy frameworks, and genuine investment in teacher development.
“Curbing Students’ Negative Behaviour through Integration of Faith and Learning in Faith-Based Schools”
This article explores the impact of integrating faith and learning on negative behaviour shown by students in an Adventist Primary school. The study investigated the effectiveness of the integration of faith and learning on negative behavioral attitudes such as aggression, defiance, truancy, bullying, disrespectful behavior, dishonesty, cheating, lying, and academic disengagement. The qualitative research involved interviewing four teachers about their method of integrating faith and learning for the students. The findings showed that a student’s negative behaviour can only change in the hands of a devoted teacher who is led by the Holy Spirit. Through this devoted life, he has demonstrated a significant reduction in negative behaviour, particularly in respect, humility, peer interaction, and academic pursuit. The findings also showed that integration of faith in all areas of learning fosters a great change in a student’s life, especially in the areas of personal responsibility, empathy, and self-control. Additionally, the study highlighted the importance of the teacher in modelling faith-based behaviour to have a positive influence on student conduct. This research also emphasized the importance of integrating faith into learning to reshape students’ negative behaviour through the caring hand of a Spirit led teacher. This promoted a holistic approach to learning that addressed both academic and character development.
“Executive Compensation: The Role of Inside Debt and Vesting Equity in Aligning Incentives and Managing Risk. Part IIIA”
This article presents the empirical evidence and concludes the findings for Article 3. Executive Compensation I. Empirical Results A. Preliminary Results
“Executive Compensation: The Role of Inside Debt and Vesting Equity in Aligning Incentives and Managing Risk. Part III”
Investor perceptions of executive equity pay incentives and their impact on corporate bond prices are examined in this article. In theory, bond investors would not require high premiums on corporate bonds if executives’ equity vesting was perceived as an indication of their concern for short-term price movements. A panel data analysis is conducted using a sample of 6,776 US-listed firms from 2006 to 2017, controlling for industry, year, and firm-fixed effects. Overall, findings show that CEOs with equity vesting in the immediate year become more sensitive to short-term price volatility, influencing corporate risk-taking decisions. Two key findings are presented: first, CEOs with vesting equity are associated with a narrow bond yield spread, which indicates investors perceive these firms to have a lower credit risk. The negative association becomes more pronounced for firms with young and short-tenured CEOs, short-maturity bonds, low-credit-rated firms, firms with low credit and short-maturity bonds, and low z-score firms with a short maturity. Based on this, the second finding confirms that CEOs with vesting equity tend to take fewer corporate risks. As a result of this reduced risk-taking, investors perceive corporate bonds offered by companies whose CEOs have equity vesting as having a lower credit risk, thereby requiring lower premiums. Multivariate regression results confirm the robustness of these results
“The Role of Internships in Shaping Sustainability Education Skills of Business Students: Student and Employer Views in Fiji”
The business community has continuously urged graduates to be equipped with knowledge of sustainability because of the broadening focus on environmental and societal impacts. Several studies pointed out that the implementation of sustainable business practices is weak within organisations because accountants or business professionals lack the knowledge of sustainability accounting. This study examined the sustainability accounting skills perceived as necessary by employers in Fiji and how internships contribute to shaping business students’ sustainability accounting skills. This study is underpinned by the situated learning theory (SLT). SLT is derived from the constructivist theory that stipulates that learners construct meaningful knowledge when they participate in a real-world workplace situation. A mixed-method approach was used to collect data from field internships in the areas of accounting, marketing, and information systems. The primary participants are the employers (internship host supervisors) and the undergraduate business students at Fulton Adventist University College (FAUC). The research instruments included surveys and interviews. Skills commonly cited were principles of financial reporting and regulatory compliance, communication, critical thinking, creative problem-solving, strategic planning, and decision-making. The employer participants concurred that an internship is an effective strategy to develop sustainability education skills because it offers a valuable opportunity to students to engage with experienced professionals. This eventually helps them understand the practical applications of the regulatory requirements and become aware of the requisite skills at the workplace.
“Apprehension: The Challenges Faced by Pacific Island Students in Universities – A Literature Review”
Most students who further their studies in universities aim to succeed in achieving their goals. However, they encounter significant challenges that can have negative impacts on their success. Pasifika students are mostly affected because the education system does not acknowledge and understand their cultural background. Pasifika cultures usually value learning and have their unique ways of relating knowledge; however, these are often overlooked in the Western-style learning system, which has led to the underrepresentation of Pasifika students, resulting in being neglected, overlooked, and receiving lower academic support, which contributes to the high dropout rate. Additionally, financial constraints, lack of family support, low confidence in their qualifications, and discrimination displayed by teachers also impact their academic results. These obstacles lower the motivation of Pasifika students, affecting their productivity, leading to a higher dropout rate. This literature review examines how these challenges, together with the different education systems that exist between Pasifika and Western negatively impact Pasifika students. It expresses that acknowledging Pasifika ways of learning, along with promoting a stronger academic and emotional support, could enhance their success and make the education system more inclusive and just.
“Enhancing Food Security and Sustainability: The Role of Hydroponic Farming in Supporting Fulton Adventist University Cafeteria Operations”
This study looks at the benefits of hydroponic farming at Fulton Adventist University College (FAUC). It aims to boost food security, sustainability, and education on campus. As a Small Island Developing State (SIDS) in the Pacific, Fiji struggles with food production. This is due to limited arable land, climate change, and a reliance on imported food. FAUC’s cafeteria serves over 400 students but faces issues with inconsistent vegetable supply, rising costs, and low nutritional quality. Using stakeholder interviews, environmental assessments, and cost modelling, this research shows that hydroponic farming can help. It finds strong support from students and staff, highlighting its potential to improve food quality and reduce reliance on external sources. Economic modelling further suggests that a pilot hydroponic system could recover its capital investment within 1–2 years, providing both rapid financial payback and long-term sustainability. It can also serve as a practical learning tool across various academic fields. However, challenges such as startup costs and technical skills require attention. The findings suggest a phased approach that aligns with FAUC’s values of stewardship, resilience, and integrated education. Hydroponic farming offers a promising way to enhance food production and drive sustainability and innovation in the Pacific.
“Biblical/Theoretical Framework for a Spiritual Leadership Development Program for Fulton Adventist University College Seventh-day Adventist Church, Fiji”
Experts and church leaders have employed different approaches to understanding the concept of leadership styles, depending on the situation at hand. This has created a misconception about the leadership style used in the churches in the Republic of Fiji Islands. This paper examines the Biblical and theoretical foundations for spiritual leadership. It develops a spiritual leadership development program for the Fulton Adventist University College Seventh-day Adventist Church, which is used as a case study. It is hoped that upon implementation of the program, a spiritual leadership style will be encouraged in the church.