Since 2000, ophthalmologists providing clinical services in Madang, Papua New Guinea, have become aware of local adult prisoners presenting with gradual vision loss. An informal assessment conducted in Beon Jail in 2007 indicated that at least 40 local inmates had a significant level of visual impairment. This was most commonly associated with atrophy of the...

On-going debate of a Pacific Islands currency union has rekindled the argument on whether Pacific Island Countries (PICs) demonstrate symmetric behavior in their business cycles as a precondition for a union according to the OCA theory. Unfortunately for the PICs, there are no empirical studies undertaken involving the analysis of business cycle synchronization. This paper...

This paper investigates an appropriate choice of anchor currency for a proposed Melanesian currency union under various hypothetical currency union arrangements. Drawing from the optimal currency area (OCA) theory and related extensions, the analysis focuses on the effects of a currency union on exchange rate volatility following similar approach by Scrimgeour (2002). Counterfactual exchange rate...

Dental caries has been shown to be the most prevalent chronic disease in early childhood. Early childhood caries (ECC) has been linked to higher caries experience in adolescence. Common risk factors associated with dental caries – oral hygiene, diet, SES, and ethnicity – have also been associated with poorer oral health (dental erosion and periodontal...

Objectives: This cross-sectional, retrospective study investigates dental development and skeletal maturation in a sample of New Zealand children and adolescents of Polynesian descent. The aim was to determine the dental age and skeletal maturation in New Zealand Polynesian children and adolescents (NZPCA), and determine if they are developmentally advanced, dentally and skeletally, compared to New...