10/26/2021
Survey on the
Influence and
Impacts of
Mandated
Strategies on
Students in
Delainavesi
UU114 Assignment 2: Research
Report
Anonymous
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC
Course code: UU114
Course name: English for Academic Purposes
Report title: Survey on the Influence and Impacts of Mandated Strategies on Students
in Delainavesi
Full name:
(As on Student ID card)
ID No.:
Group #: 11
Tutor’s name: Nagin Patel
Date: 26/10/2021
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ABSTRACT
This report is written on an investigation, conducted to evaluate the influence and
impacts of the mandated strategies, enlisted by the Fijian government, within the
Delainavesi community. It is concerning the students, which were influenced and
impacted, along with their opinions regarding the mandated strategies enlisted by the
government. The methods used to meet the objectives includes the distribution of
questionnaires and conducting further research and analysis. The results revealed that
the majority of the students in Delainavesi were impacted in many ways, and that
students had varying opinions regarding the various mandated strategies that were
enacted. The following report will also suggest recommendations as to what the
community can do, to best protect itself from the coronavirus.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Cover Page…………………………………………………………………………… i
Title Page ……………………………………………………………………………. ii
Abstract ........................................................................................................................ iii
Table of Contents …………………………………………………………………… iv
1.0 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 1
2.0 Methodology ............................................................................................................ 2
3.0 Results ...................................................................................................................... 3
4.0 Discussion ................................................................................................................ 6
5.0 Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 8
6.0 Recommendation ........................................................................................................ 9
7.0 Bibliography .......................................................................................................... 10
8.0 Appendix ................................................................................................................ 11
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1.0 INTRODUCTION
A. Purpose
The covid-19 pandemic has been classified as one of the most lethal and most
contagious viruses in the 21st century and has claimed the lives of well over four and a
half million people to date and counting. This has inevitably coerced many governments
around the world to enact and mandate various strategies within their country to try and
combat the virus (World Health Organization, 2021). This report focuses on the
influences and impacts of the numerous mandated strategies enlisted by the Fijian
government, on the students in the Delainavesi community. It also highlights the
varying opinions of students regarding the mandated strategies enacted and the reasons
behind it. As well as recommended courses of action, apart from the ones the
government has enacted, in which the community can better protect itself from the
coronavirus.
B. Background
Additionally, this first of its kind report is based on Delainavesi, a suburban area in
Lami. During the peak of the pandemic in Fiji, lockdown measures along with other
mandatory measures, were enforced and the Lami area, which included Delainavesi
was temporarily closed off from the greater Suva area and was declared as one of the
three containment zones within the central division. The zone, which included
Delainavesi, encompasses an area stretching from Wainadoi to Tamavua-i-Wai. Most
students in Delainavesi attended university in the Suva area. Being locked out of Suva,
along with other mandatory measures, had proved to be a challenging situation for the
students in the Delainavesi community, since most of the students’ livelihoods heavily
relied on entering and working in the Suva area. Hence, severely impacting and
influencing students’ lives amidst the pandemic lockdown. (GARDAWORLD, 2021)
C. Hypothesis
It seems likely that the lives of students living in Delainavesi will be influenced and
impacted in more ways than one, due to the various mandatory strategies and measures
enacted by the government. It is also expected that student’s opinion, loyalty and trust
will alternate with how helpful or wounding/irrelevant the mandatory measures and
strategies may be, in trying to control the spread of the coronavirus in Fiji. It is also
hypothesized, that a handful of students may or may not be willing to cooperate with
some of the mandated measures and strategies, due to the variations in religious and
cultural beliefs, socio-economic background and other factors amongst individuals,
which either significantly enhances or diminishes the efficiency and effectiveness of
the strategies and measures enlisted, within the Delainavesi community.
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2.0 METHODOLOGY
Questionnaires
An online questionnaire was devised, using Google Forms, to acquire information on
the sentiments of students within the Delainavesi community, regarding the mandated
strategies and measures enlisted by the government. The online questionnaire was
distributed to 12 university students, all of which resided within the Delainavesi area.
There was an equal distribution of questionnaires amongst the student sexes and races
residing in Delainavesi: 6 males and 6 females, 6 I-Taukei and 6 Indo-Fijians. The
questionnaire comprised of questions, which mostly focused on the influence and
impacts along with the personal opinions and recommendation of the students,
regarding the mandated strategies enlisted by the government. The students were
allocated a period of 3 days to try and answer the questionnaire. The results were
summarized and analyzed with the help of the Google Form survey administration
software.
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3.0 RESULTS
3.1 Awareness Level of Mandated Strategies
The following figure illustrates the awareness level amongst university students in
Delainavesi regarding the mandated strategies that were enlisted by the government.
Number of University Students
Figure 1: Awareness Level of University Students in Delainavesi.
8
8
4
6
4
0
2
0
Responses
Hardly Aware
Moderately Aware
Critically Aware
Source: Adapted from Online Questionnaire
Figure 1 shows the average response of 12 students in regards to how aware they are,
of the various mandated strategies that were enlisted by the government. 0 of which
were hardly aware, 4 of which were moderately aware and 8 of which were critically
aware.
3.2 Impacts of the Mandated Strategies
The following figure illustrates the several ways in which the mandated strategies
enacted have impacted the university students in Delainavesi.
Number of University Students
Figure 2: Impacts of the Mandated Strategies on University Students in Delainavesi
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
9
Financial
8
7
Physical Health
7
Mental Health
Social
4
Human Rights
3
Housing
1
1
1
Education
Religion
Responses
Food Security
Source: Adapted from Online Questionnaire
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Figure 2 shows the various responses of 12 students in regards to how the various
mandated strategies have impacted them. 7 students were impacted financially; 4
student’s physical health was impacted; 7 student’s mental health was also impacted; 9
student’s social life was impacted; 1 student’s human rights were impacted; 1 student’s
housing was also impacted; 8 student’s education was impacted; 3 student’s religion
was also impacted, and 1 student’s food security was impacted.
3.3 Severity of the Impacts of the Mandated Strategies
The following figure illustrates the severity levels of the impacts of the mandated
strategies enacted, on university students residing in Delainavesi.
Number of University Students
Figure 3: Severity Levels of the Impacts of the Mandated Strategies on University
Students in Delainavesi.
6
6
4
4
2
2
0
Responses
Barely Impacted
Moderately Impacted
Severly Impacted
Source: Adapted from Online Questionnaire
Figure 3 shows the average responses of 12 students, in regards to how severely
impacted they were, due to the mandated strategies enacted. 2 students were barely
impacted; 6 students were moderately impacted while 4 students were severely
impacted.
3.4 Effectiveness of Government’s Mandated Strategies
The following figure illustrates the varying opinions amongst the students regarding
the mandated strategies that was implemented by the government.
Figure 4: Effectiveness of the Mandated Strategies in the Delainavesi Community
8%
Poor
33%
Fair
Satisfactory
Very Good
59%
Excellent
Source: Adapted from Online Questionnaire
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Figure 4 shows the responses of the 12 students, in regards to how effective the
mandated strategies that were implemented were in the Delainavesi community during
the pandemic. None of the students said that the effectiveness was poor; 8% (1 student)
said that the strategies were fair; another 33% (4 students) said that it was very good,
while the majority, at 59% (7 students) said that the strategies were satisfactory, and
none said that it was excellent.
3.5 Vaccination Proportions
The following figure illustrates the proportion of students who are/are not fully
vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Figure 5: Fully Vaccination Levels Amongst University Students in the Delainavesi
Community
8%
Yes
92%
No
Source: Adapted from Online Questionnaire
Figure 5 shows the response of the 12 university students on whether or not they are/are
not fully vaccinated against the coronavirus within the Delainavesi community. 8% (1
student) of students are not fully vaccinated while the remaining 92% (11 students) of
students are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus in the Delainavesi community.
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4.0 DISCUSSION
The results have shown that people, especially youths, tend to be critically aware of the
numerous mandated strategies that has been implemented by the government. The main
reason behind this is the media, which has been an effective method of communicating
information regarding the Covid-19 mandated strategies. International and local
government agencies, government departments and other health governing authorities
have utilized the various forms of media to relay critical information regarding the
pandemic and have placed emphasis on the importance of complying with the various
forms of mandated strategies enlisted and enacted by the government (Sood & Hauer,
2020). Fiji’s government officials have utilized various media platforms to try and relay
up-to-date information regarding the pandemic and the various strategies that have been
implemented to try and combat the coronavirus.
In addition, the mandated strategies that were enacted to combat the coronavirus had
affected students in numerous ways and on numerous levels. The most prevalent and
severe ones being the social and educational impacts. Due to strict and mandatory
lockdown measures, young students along with their families, were forced into a state
of social and educational isolation and have therefore faced a lot of difficulties in
socializing and learning due to the loss of the “human touch” aspect of it
(MCCLUSKEY, 2020). The next 2 prevalent and more moderately severe impacts are
the mental health and financial impacts. The lockdown measures have forced most
people to stay home and businesses to shut down operations, thus the families of young
people have been forced out of work and are not being paid, bringing about financial
insecurities, which then takes a toll on their mental health like anxiety and depression.
Even though the students and their families faced many difficulties during the
lockdowns, many of them are discovering new ways to cope with their difficulties, one
of which includes using the internet, technology and media platforms to socialize, make
a living and learn. Therefore, to some extent, the students in general, have adapted to
new lifestyle during lockdown.
Moreover, due to the many impacts caused by the mandated strategies implemented,
young people, mostly university students, have started to change their opinions
regarding those strategies. On one note, to some extent, most of the mandated strategies
that was implemented were effective in achieving their primary purpose, which was to
reduce the spread of the coronavirus while the others were aimed at assisting people
who were severely impacted during the pandemic. These strategies included wearing
masks, social distancing, frequent hand washing, $360 stimulus payment and the use of
the CareFiji app. On the other hand, youths also developed mixed feelings regarding
some of the mandated strategies, specifically the no jab no job policy and the curfew
breaching fines. These mixed feelings, stems from the fact that people were already
struggling financially, and the government has just placed more financial pressure and
restrictions on a handful of people, who may possess genuine reasons as to why they
are not able to cooperate with those mandated strategies and also for those who seek to
simply want to exercise their human rights.
Furthermore, the main strategy that was implemented to combat the spread the spread
of the virus was getting fully vaccinated. Majority of young people have been fully
vaccinated against the coronavirus. This high percentage rate is due to many reasons.
One of which includes the fact that, students in particular, could only enter their school
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premises if they are fully vaccinated, motivating most youths to get vaccinated. Another
reason is that people above the age of 18 and who are fully vaccinated, will be eligible
to receive $360 in government assistance, hence providing a persuasive incentive for
young people to get fully vaccinated. Finally, the main reason as to why many young
people are getting fully vaccinated is to not only safeguard their health and their lives,
but also safeguard the health and lives of their families, friends and the people in their
community.
Although many young people had varying opinions regarding the mandated strategies
that were implemented, most of agreed to the fact that most of the mandated strategies
have successfully accomplished their primary purpose, which was to reduce the spread
of the coronavirus within the country. These strategies have not only been effective in
reducing the spread of the virus in Fiji, but also keeping new virus variants from
entering Fijian borders, assisting those who have been financially impacted during the
pandemic, safeguarding the lives of vulnerable members in communities like the
elderly and also not overstraining Fiji’s under-developed medical infrastructure. Hence,
as the primary objectives of the mandated strategies are being met, people will slowly
start to go back to their normal lives prior to the pandemic.
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5.0 CONCLUSION
This report is not conclusive, considering that it lacks plausibility and principled.
Consequently, no concrete general reasoning or hypothesis can be made about the
influence and impacts of the various mandated strategies enlisted by the government.
Further in-depth research and analysis of this issue is necessary in this research field,
in order to reach a more sound consensus regarding the influence and impacts of the
mandated strategies enlisted on students within the Delainavesi community. Equally,
this scope of this research report is very narrow since it only concerns university
students and therefore it does not reflect the whole community.
However, this research does reveal that the mandated strategies that were implemented
by the Fijian government had, to some extent, impacted and influence the lives and
opinions of the university students residing in Delainavesi. The students were impacted
in more ways than one and on different levels of severity, thus it has contributed to
varying opinions amongst students regarding the mandated strategies implemented.
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6.0 RECOMMENDATION
The following recommendations are suggested:
 Community leaders can conduct vaccine promotion and awareness campaigns
within their own communities to encourage people to get fully vaccinated.
 Residents can strictly abide by and enforce the governments mandated
strategies within their own homes.
 Residents can strictly ban outsiders, especially frontline workers and
foreigners, from entering their communities and homes, to avoid getting
infected.
 Religious leaders should consistently be emphasizing and promoting the
importance of following the mandated protocols.
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7.0 BIBLIOGRAPHY




GARDAWORLD, 2021. Fiji: Authorities declare additional containment
zones, including Suva, as of April 26 /update 2. [Online]
Available at: https://www.garda.com/crisis24/news-alerts/471326/fijiauthorities-declare-additional-containment-zones-including-suva-as-of-april26-update-2
[Accessed 26 October 2021].
MCCLUSKEY, M., 2020. The Coronavirus Outbreak Keeps Humans from
Touching. Here's Why That's So Stressful. [Online]
Available at: https://time.com/5817453/coronavirus-human-touch/
[Accessed 29 October 2021].
Sood, S. & Hauer, M. K., 2020. Using Social Media to Communicate
Sustainable Preventive Measures and Curtail Misinformation. Coronavirus
Disease (COVID-19): The Impact and Role of Mass Media During the
Pandemic, 16 October.
World Health Organization, 2021. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
pandemic, s.l.: s.n.
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8.0 APPENDIX
Link to online questionnaire:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfuIni6KGeIWOfci7V6IlTV8anw3aoz8zZ
YBplaUAtSOE7ogA/viewform?usp=sf_link
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