Course code: UU114

Course name: English for Academic Purposes

Report title: Mandated Strategies: A Case Study of Waila Settlement

Full name: Nihaal Sidhant Chand

ID No: S11195632

Group #: 2

Tutor’s name: Bhavna Vithal

Date: 29/10/202
Abstract

This report is prepared based on the knowledge which the residents of Waila Settlement have on

the importance of the mandated strategies, the strategies which best suit them and their reasons

as to why they agree and disagree with those mandated strategies. The method which was used to

meet the objective of the research was designing of questionnaire and giving it to the residents of

Waila Settlement to fill in their response. It could be analyzed from the result that the mandated

strategies do have varying effects on various age group and gender. This report will also make

recommendations.

Contents

i
Abstract.............................................................................................................................................i

List of Figures.................................................................................................................................iv

Figure 1: The respondent’s knowledge on the possible effects of Covid-19 on Waila

Settlement...................................................................................................................................iv

Figure 2: The mandated strategies which best suit in Waila Settlement....................................iv

Figure 3: The extent to which the Waila Residents agree and disagree with the mandated

strategies.....................................................................................................................................iv

Figure 4: The respondents reasons as to why they agree and disagree with the mandated

strategies.....................................................................................................................................iv

Figure 5: The effects of mandated strategies on the Community...............................................iv

Figure 6: Review on whether the government policy was better or not based on employment

status...........................................................................................................................................iv

Figure 7: The severity of the mandated strategy on the people based on gender.......................iv

Figure 8: The confidence which the respondents have in the mandated strategies....................iv

Figure 9: How can the Community can protect itself from COVID-1.......................................iv

1.0 Introduction...........................................................................................................................1

2.0 Method.......................................................................................................................................3

2.1 The participants:....................................................................................................................3

2.2 Materials:...............................................................................................................................3

2.3 Procedure:..............................................................................................................................4

2.0 Results...................................................................................................................................5

ii
 3.1 The knowledge on the effects of COVID-19.........................................................................5

3.2 The strategy which suits the Waila settlement......................................................................6

3.3 The reasoning with mandated strategies................................................................................7

3.4 The reasons why participants agree and disagree..................................................................8

3.4 The effects on the Community..............................................................................................9

3.6 The review on mandated strategies......................................................................................10

3.7 How severe was the mandated strategy...............................................................................11

3.8 The confidence on mandated strategy.................................................................................11

3.9 How the community will protect itself from COVID-19....................................................13

5.0 Discussion................................................................................................................................14

6.0 Conclusion...............................................................................................................................18

7.0 Recommendation.....................................................................................................................19

8.0 Bibliography............................................................................................................................20

9.0 Appendix..................................................................................................................................22

iii
List of Figures

Figure 1: The respondent’s knowledge on the possible effects of Covid-19 on Waila Settlement.

Figure 2: The mandated strategies which best suit in Waila Settlement

Figure 3: The extent to which the Waila Residents agree and disagree with the mandated

strategies

Figure 4: The respondents reasons as to why they agree and disagree with the mandated

strategies

Figure 5: The effects of mandated strategies on the Community

Figure 6: Review on whether the government policy was better or not based on employment

status

Figure 7: The severity of the mandated strategy on the people based on gender

Figure 8: The confidence which the respondents have in the mandated strategies

Figure 9: How can the Community can protect itself from COVID-19

iv
1.0 Introduction

The purpose of this research is to fulfill the terms of reference which include;

 To find out how knowledgeable people are about the effects of Covid-19.

 To find out what mandated strategies government has put in place to counterCovid-19.

 To find out if people agree or disagree with the mandated strategies stated above.

 To evaluate people’s reasons on why they agree or disagree with the strategies.

 To make recommendations on ways the community can best protect itself from Covid-19.

The Mandated strategies could be described as a set of rules and regulations outlined by the

government to achieve a long term goal and stability for the nation. The government have their

own preventative measures which they implement to protect the citizens from the pandemic like

Covid-19. To illustrate, “These outbreaks have put significant pressure on governments already

stretched by the economic impact of the pandemic, in a region heavily reliant on tourism”

(Mackey 2021 p.3). This simply means that the government have been under pressure by the

pandemic as it is economically affecting the nation, particularly the tourism sector. The tourism

sector is likely to be affected by the mandated strategies as it imposed border restrictions. In their

article, (World Health Organization 2021 p.4) states that the government departments were

working together to consider all possibilities and at the same time determine the best option for

Fiji at each point of the response to the outbreak. This explains that the government were

working to identify the best strategies which could be applicable in Fiji to encounter the effects

of COVID-19. According to Kumar (2021 p.1), argues that there are not enough medical

1
facilities to save people’s lives in severe cases and therefore it is very important to comply with

the governments mandated strategies. The article stresses on the need to follow the government’s

strategies as it will help save lives and one can protect themselves from the deadly virus of

COVID-19. In addition, the pandemic has amplified gender inequalities in Fiji, it may be

observed from those individuals who belong to LGBTQIA+ community and also females are

victims of domestic violence and unemployment. For instance, “In Fiji, as elsewhere, the

economic impacts of COVID-19 are being disproportionately felt by women, who earn less than

men, have little to no savings, and work in jobs with little security or protections” (Kumar 2021

p.12). This elaborates that women have been affected more severely as they are not given equal

chances in job sectors and COVID-19 has made it more worse as the availability of employment

opportunities have decreased.

This report intends to evaluate the opinions of the residents of Waila settlement on observing

strategies based on different reasons and it is likely that majority of the residents would know

about the effects of COVIID-19 and also understand that mandated strategies are to be followed.

It is expected that the residents of Waila settlement may give recommendation on whether they

agree or disagree with the mandated strategies put in place by the government.

2
2.0 Method

In order to amass this project, the following research tools were used:

2.1 The participants: A total of 10 residents of Waila Settlement were selected to take part in this

survey. There was a schooling student of age 17, 2 respondents were between the age of 18 to

25, 5 were between 26 to 35 while 1 respondent was in the age group of 46 to 55 and 1 was 56

years old. The respondents were also of different genders which included 2 people from the

LGBTQIA+ community, 5 females were there and the participants also compromised of 3 males.

The respondents had to simply fill the questionnaire which was given to them for a period of one

week. These respondents were chosen as they were of different age group, gender and also had

varying employment status and their response has provided the report with data from various

background. It was made sure that different people are part of the survey so that data collected

could be comprehensible representing the Waila Settlement.

2.2 Materials: A questionnaire compromising of 20 questions were given to the residents of

Waila settlement to gather their point of view on observing the various strategies given out by

the government due to Covid-19. For a period of one week, the questionnaire was distributed and

analyzed and henceforth the report was prepared. The questions were basic and mostly selection

questions were prepared so that data could be collected from different age group and it also

covered those individuals who faced employment issues due to the mandated strategies. The

respondents were also given ranking questions to analyze which strategies suited best, why they

followed those strategies and whether they were comfortable or not in the strategies implemented

by the government.

3
2.3 Procedure: The report was based on the qualitative method of data collection. This method

was used to test the hypothesis of the research. The case study was on Waila Settlement and the

main participants were the residents of the settlement. The data was collected through the

designed questionnaire. The response to the questionnaire provided insights of the residents view

on mandated strategies. The data was analyzed in detail.

4
2.0 Results

Results from Questionnaire.

The flowing figures were developed from the responses of the Waila Settlement.

3.1 The knowledge on the effects of COVID-19

Figure 1: The respondent’s knowledge on the possible effects of Covid-19 on Waila Settlement.

The effects of Covid-19 on Waila residents.

Unemployement and short working hours Lack of Social and community interaction
Business are more productive Increasing number of deaths and health problems
More jobs available Education sectors closed with affected students

4% 6%
5%
5%

80%

According to Fig.1, the pandemic COVID-19 had led to unemployment and short working hours

where 8 out of 10 (80%) of Waila respondent were affected. None of the respondents believed that

COVID-19 had brought more job opportunities.

5
3.2 The strategy which suits the Waila settlement

Figure 2: The mandated strategies which best suit in Waila Settlement

The mandated strategies which was suitable for dif -

ferent age group
1.2 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 1 1
0.8
0.4
Number of people

0
g gs ks on
s gs li c
y s
ci n rin as ti rin Po
se
a n e m ri c e es
is t a th g st at
h
Jo
b s in
ld lg rin e
sg
u
i ca ea tr N o lb
ys ci a en as b, a
So W m Ja nti
Ph em of s e
ov n No es
m io n
d ns no
l an sp
e of
ve Su ur
e
tra os
of Cl
n
tio Mandated strategies
la
V io

Aged 17 or less Age 18-25 Age 26-35 Age 46-55 Age more than 56

It could be interpreted from Fig.2 that different age groups have selected different strategies

that suit them which was given out by the government during COVID-19. Majority number of

respondents, 3 out of 10 (30%) believe that suspension of mass gatherings was the effective

strategy out of all while the others selected other options.

6
3.3 The reasoning with mandated strategies

Figure 3: The extent to which the Waila Residents agree and disagree with the mandated

strategies

Respondents agreement with the mandated strategies

100% 1% 2%
90% 1% 2%
80% 2% 2% 4%
70%
60%
1%
50% 23% 12%
30%
Percentage of people

40% 12% 3%
30% 3%
20%
10% 2%
0%

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Mandated strategies

From the above pie chart in Fig.3, it can be said that majority of the respondents strongly agree

with the mandated strategy of wearing masks. About 12% of the respondents strongly agreed

with the No Jab No Job policy and no social gatherings while 23% of the respondents selected

physical distancing. The other mandated strategies had different percentages of respondents

agreeing and disagreeing with the governments mandated strategies.

7
3.4 The reasons why participants agree and disagree

Figure: 4 The respondents reasons as to why they agree and disagree with the mandated

strategies

Respondents reasons to agree and diagree with the

mandated strategies
5
4 4
4.5 3
2 2
3
1.5
Number of people

0
s d t s es
on oo en ol tri cie
s
as l ih m toc n ra
re e is h ro ou pi
y liv un fp rc ns
f et i th P o h e co
Sa w oi
d ity ot ls e
an
d
nue Av ctiv i th fa
ti e w i n
th n eff n
al Co of i so in
g
He k r e v
La
c pa li
m be
Co l e
op
Pe
Reasons

Agree Disagree

The major reason to agree with the mandated strategy which could be drawn from Fig.4 is for

health and safety reasons where 5 out of 10 (50%) of the respondents selected the option.

There was varying result on why the respondents disagreed with the mandated strategies as 4

out of 10 (40%) people believed that it was due to lack of affectivity of protocols and 40% also

believed it was because of people believing in false conspiracies.

8
3.4 The effects on the Community

Figure: 5 The effects of mandated strategies on the Community

Respondents response on how the mandated

strategies have impacted their life

5
4.5
Number of people

4
3.5
3 5
2.5 4
2
1.5
1 1
0.5
0
Mental Health Social Life Financial Stability
Level of Impact

Lightly impacted Moderately impacted Greatly impacted

According to Fig.5, 5 out of 10 (50%) respondents selected financial stability as one of the

adverse effects of COVID-19 which has greatly impacted their lives in Waila Settlement.

Mental health was also one of the reasons which had affected few respondents and it was

selected by 4 out 0f 10 (40%) of the respondents.

9
3.6 The review on mandated strategies

Figure: 6 Review on whether the government policy was better or not based on employment

status

Graph illustrating the respondents view whether the gov-

ernment policy was effective or not based on employement
status

100%
90%
Percentages of people

80%
5%
70%
60%
50% 20% 10% 65%
40%
30%
5%
20%
10%
0%
Full time Part time Student Unemployed
Option

Agree Disagree

According to Fig.6, it could be interpreted that government policy was not effective as it led to

unemployment while as expected those who had full time employment agreed that government

policy was effective.

10
3.7 How severe was the mandated strategy

Figure: 7 The severity of the mandated strategy on the people based on gender

Graph illustrating the effects of mandated strategy based

on gender

LGBTQIA+

Male

Female

0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5

Able to survive Difficult to survive

It can be interpreted from Fig.7 that it was difficult for all genders to cope with the effects of

mandated strategies however LGBTQIA+ community was severely affected as those

respondents who belonged to the community selected the option of difficult to survive.

11
3.8 The confidence on mandated strategy

Figure: 8 The confidence which the respondents have in the mandated strategies

Graph illustrating the respondents level of confidence in

the mandated strategies

30%

50%

20%

Very Confident Somewhat Confident Not very confident

Fig.8 points out that 5 out of 10 (50%) of the respondents were confident in the mandated

strategies put in place by the government while 20% was somewhat confident and 30% was

not very confident.

12
3.9 How the community will protect itself from COVID-19

Figure: 9 How can the Community protect itself from COVID-19

Respondents recommendation on ways the Waila set -

tlement can protect itself from COVID-19

Getting vaccinated

Attending mass gatherings

Recommendations

Wearing masks and using sanitisers

Breaching curfew hours

Avoid unncecessary travel

Remaining within bubbles

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Number of people

Responses

It can be analyzed from Fig.9, that all of the respondents 10 out of 10 (100%) recommend

wearing masks and using sanitizers, not breaching curfew hours will help protect the residents

of Waila settlement from COVID-19. The other recommendation which was also highly

selected by respondents 8 out 0f 10 (80%) was avoiding unnecessary travelling. The lowest

selection was made on attending mass gathering which was selected by 6 out of 10

respondents (60%).

13
5.0 Discussion

The various mandated strategies have several impact on different people. The residents of Waila

Settlement have provided insights on how the settlement was affected by the recent pandemic

COVID-19 and how were they affected.

As depicted in Figure 1, the pandemic had impacted the Waila Settlement in various ways. The

expected effect which was unemployment and short working hours was also observed in Waila

Settlement where many of the respondents were not employed and very few were on reduced

hours. The schools was closed and students of Waila settlement were also affected however only

6% of the respondents selected this option which may mean that schools were running virtually

and it did not cause as much harm compared to loss of job. Some respondents have highlighted

that COVID-19 has made businesses to be more productive which was probably due to

movement restrictions and most shop owners may have made profit during this time. The

settlement also came across residents having increasing number of health issues and death

caused by COVID-19. None of the respondents believe that COVID-19 had brought more job

opportunities.

Interestingly, in Figure 2 it can be seen that different age group were suitable with selected

mandated strategies. The respondent who fell in the age category of less than 17 selected

wearing mask to be the best strategy could be because the teenager didn’t move around much

and mostly stayed home while those who were between the ages of 18-25 wanted no social

gatherings and suspension of mass gatherings this might be because they think the children and

the elderly could be at more risk. The respondents between the ages of 26-35 selected physical

distancing, wearing masks, violation of travel and movement restrictions, no jab no job policy

14
and closure of non-essential businesses. The reason for their choices in this mandated strategies

could be they must be working individuals. The respondents between the age of 46-55 and 56

over found suspension of mass gathering to be the suitable mandated strategy relating with their

age as this respondents may not move outside their bubbles.

Moreover, it can be analyzed from Figure 3 about the extent to which the respondents agree and

disagree with the mandated strategies. The highest agreement was with wearing mask as all

respondents may understand that wearing mask will protect them from catching the virus of

COVID-19. The second highest strategy which was selected was physical distancing as

respondents might know that maintaining distance will stop the spread of COVID-19. The 12%

of respondents strongly agreed with no social gathering and no jab no job policy, this might be

those individuals who are employed. There were 4% of the respondents who strongly disagreed

with the suspension of mass gatherings possibly because they were individuals who loved to

meet people and do social gatherings.

In addition, Figure 4 displays the reasons as to why the respondents agree and disagree with the

mandated strategies. Majority of the respondents agree with the mandated strategies as they

believe it may protect their health and provide protection from COVID-19. Some respondents

agree so that they can continue to live as they were living before while few respondents agreed

so that they are not punished for breaching any mandated strategy. On the other hand, the major

reason for disagreeing with the mandated strategies is could be people easily believing in false

conspiracies like this may not be an official rule, the others disagree as they might have

experienced that there is lack of affectivity of protocols while few start comparing the

governments mandated strategies with other countries without realizing that all governments

15
have their own strategies of tackling things which affect the country such as the pandemic

COVID-19.

Furthermore, Figure 5 shows the effect of mandated strategy on the respondent’s mental health,

social life and financial stability. The half of the population of the respondents had selected that

COVID-19 had impacted particularly on their finances. It can be said that COVID-19 may have

led to increase in prices of majority of goods as borders were closed which led to scarcity of the

resources and prices going high. People had also lost their job and which altogether resulted in

people not having financial stability. Quite a number of people stated that COVID-19 has

impacted their mental health which could be caused by worries and pressures of seeking new job,

keeping up with expenses and looking after the family. Only one respondent stated that COVID-

19 has impacted the social life and it can be said that the individual might be too socializing and

the mandated strategies has put restrictions on socializing.

However, Figure 6 gives a review if the government policy was alright or not based on

employment status. As expected those respondents who were employed full time would not have

any issues from the mandated strategies and the students as well stated that the strategies were

good enough whereas those respondents who were part time employees and some who were not

employed, the mandated strategy seemed no use to them as they were not able to cater for their

needs.

From the analysis of Figure 7 it is clear that the severity of the effects of COVID-19 varies in

different gender. It was very difficult for those members who belong to LGBTQIA+ as they

might not easily get job and it is already common that they get disrespected as gender equality is

still an issue in progress. Surprisingly, the sole bread winner, the males also had difficult time to

survive the effects of COVID-19 as it took away all job opportunities from Waila Settlement and

16
left behind poverty and inflation. As expected from the analysis that women might find

difficulties in coping with the effects as mostly women in Waila settlements are not employed as

they are housewives.

In the same way, Figure 8 illustrates the confidence which the respondents of Waila Settlement

have in the mandated strategies that it will protect their lives. About 50% of the respondents

were very confident in the mandated strategies as they may believe that the government must

have thought of something good for the citizen and that is why they are coming up with those

strategies, 20% of the people were somewhat confident that the mandated strategies if followed

may protect them while 30% of the respondents selected the option of not very confident as they

were not sure whether the strategies were effective or not to protect them.

Lastly, Figure 9 highlights on the recommendations the respondents believe may protect the

residents of Waila Settlement. The two recommendations which were highly selected were

wearing masks and using sanitisers and no breaching of curfew hours may help prevent COVID-

19 in Waila Settlement as these two approaches were part of the mandated strategies. The

respondents also believed that avoiding unnecessary travelling might stop COVID-19 in Waila

settlement. Getting vaccinated was also selected along with remaining in own bubbles as all this

approaches will help remove the deadly virus named COVID-19 from Waila Settlement.

17
6.0 Conclusion

The report was prepared based on a small scale which was not enough for absolute data. There

were only 10 respondents selected from Waila settlement of varying age and gender and it is

believed if the entire Waila residents would have been included in the survey it would have

provided a data which would be more analytical. There was not enough time to carry out the

research and appropriate method of data collection like interviewing the respondents and large

survey area may provide data which may be comprehensive.

However, the research was able to express that the resident of Waila Settlement do have

knowledge on the effects of COVID-19 and also understand about the mandated strategies which

the government has put in place to eradicate COVID-19.The report also highlighted how the

effects of mandated strategies varies for different gender and how different age groups were

comfortable with the mandated strategies. The responses revealed that there are reasons as to

why the residents agree and disagree with the mandated strategies. The respondents were also

able to make recommendations on ways the residents of Waila Settlement could be protected.

18
7.0 Recommendation

The following recommendations could be made:

 Awareness on the effects of COVID-19 is highly needed especially in rural areas so that

all individuals of varying age could be protected.

 Gender equality should be embraced in all communities so that everyone feels included

and work together during tough situations and no gender is discriminated.

 The community members must ensure that all protocols are followed and not violated by

anyone as if communities are able to prevent the spread of virus in their bubbles it will

also help the entire Fiji in fighting against COVID-19.

 Government along with the stake holders and non-government organizations should

work together providing incentives and other form of assistance such as giving rations to

communities.

 Even though there is a reduction in the number of active cases in the country, the citizens

should still ensure that they follow all the governments mandated strategies as it will

promote towards the betterment of the people and the nation at large.

19
8.0 Bibliography

Kumar, V.2021, Impact of Covid-19, The Fiji Times, 10 March, p.3.

Kumar, S.2021, What are Fiji’s options- Dealing with the second wave, The Fiji Times, 4 July,

p.5.

Mackey, K.2021, WHAT FIJI’S COVID-19 RESPONSE TELLS US ABOUT INTEGRITY IN

EMERGENICIES,

TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL, 29 July p.3.

World Health Organization 2021 “Fiji intensifies COVID-19 response efforts” viewed 24

October 2021,

https://www.who.int/westernpacific/about/how-we-work/pacific-support/news/detail/02-

06-2021-fiji-intensifies-covid-19-response-efforts.

20
21
9.0 Appendix

22
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