Hawaii School Research Articles

A comparative study examining constraints to leisure and recreation opportunities for youth living in remote and isolated communities

Separation from major population centres can create a number of barriers and constraints for leisure professionals and their constituents. Constraints may be intrapersonal, interpersonal, or structural in nature. Several factors, including accessibility, mobility, relative location of recreational facilities, and resources to create opportunities, have been documented as constraints on leisure. To date, there has been limited research on constraints to adolescent youth involvement in education, leisure, and recreation programs in remote and isolated communities. The purpose of this study was to examine the constraints related to leisure and recreation opportunities of adolescent youth who live in three remote and isolated locations on the Hawaiian Islands. A total of 1,968 surveys were completed by adolescents in grades 6–12 who attended intermediate schools and high schools in Hawaii. Results indicated that a number of intrapersonal, interpersonal, and structural constraints exist, impacting on adolescent participation in leisure and recreational activities. The data collected in this study is important to enhancing the body of knowledge regarding barriers and constraints to leisure opportunities for adolescent youth in remote and isolated communities. This information is also beneficial for leisure providers wanting to design effective programs for adolescents living in these areas.

Not All Minorities Are Underrepresented in Academic Surgery

Department of Surgery, University of Hawaii School of Medicine, Honolulu, Hawaii, [email protected]

A Randomized, Wait-List Controlled Effectiveness Trial Assessing School-Wide Positive Behavior Support in Elementary Schools

We report a randomized, wait-list controlled trial assessing the effects of school-wide positive behavior support (SWPBS). An effectiveness analysis was conducted with elementary schools in Hawaii and Illinois where training and technical assistance in SWPBS was provided by regular state personnel over a 3-year period. Results document that the training and technical assistance were functionally related to improved implementation of universal-level SWPBS practices. Improved use of SWPBS was functionally related to improvements in the perceived safety of the school setting and the proportion of third graders meeting or exceeding state reading assessment standards. Results also document that levels of office discipline referrals were comparatively low, but the absence of experimental control for this variable precludes inference about the impact of SWPBS. Implications for future research directions are offered.

Effects of ethnicity and socioeconomic status on body composition in an admixed, multiethnic population in Hawaii

This study determined ethnic differences in anthropometric measures of a sample of adults in Hawaii, examining the effects of differing degrees of ethnic admixing and socioeconomic status (SES) on the measures. Adults who had attended elementary school in Hawaii underwent anthropometric measurements and answered questionnaires about their educational attainment, income, age, cultural identity, ethnic ancestry, and health. Individuals reporting Asian American cultural identity had significantly lower mean body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) than others, whereas those with Hawaiian/Pacific Islander cultural identity had significantly higher BMI and WC. Educational attainment, but not reported family income and age, was significantly related to BMI and WC, and differences in educational attainment accounted for the increased mean BMI and WC in Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders, but did not account for the lower mean BMI and WC among Asian Americans. Higher percentage of Asian ancestry was significantly correlated with lower BMI and WC, whereas higher percentage of Hawaiian/Pacific Islander ancestry was significantly correlated with increased BMI and WC. Differences in education accounted for the significantly increased BMI in participants with a higher percentage of Hawaiian/Pacific Islander ancestry, but did not entirely account for the lower BMI in individuals with a higher percentage of Asian American ancestry. These results suggest that the high rate of obesity and its sequelae seen in Pacific Islanders may be more a result of socioeconomic status and lifestyle than of genetic propensity, whereas the lower rates of obesity observed in Asian American populations are less directly influenced by socioeconomic factors.

Factors Influencing Teachers’ Implementation of an Innovative Tobacco Prevention Curriculum for Multiethnic Youth: Project SPLASH

The effectiveness of school-based tobacco use prevention programs depends on proper implementation. This study examined factors associated with teachers' implementation of a smoking prevention curriculum in a cluster randomized trial called Project SPLASH (Smoking Prevention Launch Among Students in Hawaii). A process evaluation was conducted and a cross-condition comparison used to examine whether teacher characteristics, teacher training, external facilitators and barriers, teacher attitudes, and curriculum attributes were associated with the dose of teacher implementation in the intervention and control arms of the study. Data were collected from a total of 62 middle school teachers in 20 public schools in Hawaii, during the 2000-2001 and 2001-2002 school years. Sources included teacher questionnaires and interviews. Chi-square test and t test revealed that implementation dose was related to teachers' disciplinary backgrounds and skills and student enjoyment of the curriculum. Content analysis, within case, and cross-case analyses of qualitative data revealed that implementing the curriculum in a year long class schedule and high teacher self-efficacy supported implementation, while high perceived curriculum complexity was associated with less complete implementation. The results have implications for research, school health promotion practice, and the implementation of evidence-based youth tobacco use prevention curricula.

Comparison of Manual and Electric Breast Pumps Among WIC Women Returning to Work or School in Hawaii

The Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) branch of the Hawaii Department of Health encourages and assists mothers in breastfeeding. A study was done to determine whether an electric breast pump (vs. a manual pump) would increase breastfeeding duration in those returning to work or school full-time. During 2002-2003, a randomized trial was conducted among 280 women, with the duration of breastfeeding analyzed in 229 of these women. Descriptive analyses and a multivariate logistic regression analysis assessed factors associated with breastfeeding at 6 months. Unadjusted and adjusted survival analyses were performed to estimate the duration of breastfeeding. In all, 76.8% of women using the manual breast pump and 72.3% of those using the electric breast pump breastfed for at least 6 months. This difference did not reach statistical significance. In the survival analysis adjusted for pump assignment, maternal age, race/ethnicity, marital status, and parity, women with at least some college education breastfed for a 38% shorter time than women with a high school or lower education. Our findings suggest that the manual breast pump may work as well as the electric breast pump when breastfeeding is encouraged and supported among women returning to work or school full-time. Particular attention should be given to examining reasons why women with greater education breastfed for a shorter duration. Further research is needed to validate these results to better inform breastfeeding women returning to work or school.

All-Precast-Concrete Solution for University of Hawaii School of Medicine Buildings

An all-precast/prestressed-concrete system proved ideal for constructing both the Medical Education Building and the Biomedical Sciences Building for the University of Hawai'i's John A. Burns School of Medicine in Honolulu, Hawai'i. Built with loadbearing, architectural precast concrete window-box panels, these components along the perimeter of the building provide the primary lateral and vertical load-resisting system to withstand gravity, wind, and seismic loads. The panels also serve as the main architectural facade, featuring several attractive Hawaiian nature motifs. The internal precast concrete frame, comprising double tees, inverted tees, and columns, furnishes large, unobstructed, column-free spaces and flexibility for future changes inside the buildings. The precast concrete double tees were designed to the stringent vibration criteria of the research laboratories. This article presents design features and production and construction highlights of the two new buildings at the Kaka'ako campus of the University of Hawai'i's School of Medicine.

Review: Teaching Mikadoism: The Attack on Japanese Language Schools in Hawaii, California, and Washington, 1919-1927, by Noriko Asato

Review: <i>Teaching Mikadoism: The Attack on Japanese Language Schools in Hawaii, California, and Washington, 1919-1927</i>, by Noriko Asato

Building Bridges, Not Barriers: Inviting Chuukese Family Involvement in Hawaii Schools

Chuukese students and parents in Hawaii were interviewed about differences between schools in Hawaii and Chuuk, aspects of schooling in Hawaii that affected adjustment and suggestions for increasing Chuukese family involvement. Differences between schools in Hawaii and Chuuk included availability of materials, different expectations for teachers and students, lack of English language instruction in Chuuk and variable reading background or preparation. Barriers to adjustment to Hawaii schools included limited English proficiency, peer pressure, teachers' negative expectations or prejudice about Micronesian students and ethnic conflicts. Suggestions to facilitate family involvement and make schools more inviting included providing sports clubs for Micronesian students, opportunities for Micronesian students to share about their culture with other students and providing translators at parent–teacher meetings.

Activating multi-ethnic youth for smoking prevention: Design, baseline findings, and implementation of project SPLASH

Achieving significant reductions in tobacco use by youth is an important challenge. There is a pressing need to develop and evaluate innovative strategies that stimulate youth involvement and are effective in multi-ethnic populations. This article describes an innovative tobacco prevention trial, and reports baseline characteristics of participants and findings about implementation of the curriculum. The aim of Project SPLASH is to evaluate the impact of a school-based smoking prevention intervention that emphasizes active involvement of middle school students, on rates of smoking initiation and regular smoking in a multi-ethnic cohort of youth in Hawaii. Project SPLASH is a group randomized trial that compares a 2-year innovative intervention with a social influence prevention program, in 20 public schools in Hawaii. The main outcome is mean 30-day smoking prevalence rates. The response rate was 78.4%. Approximately 1 in 4 students had tried smoking and 30-day smoking prevalence at baseline was 8%. Intervention and control groups were comparable in terms of tobacco use, gender, ethnicity, behavioral, environmental, and psychosocial characteristics. Differences in ethnic identification, socio-economic status, acculturation, and involvement in prevention activities may be due to chance. The intervention was well implemented by teachers across both the intervention and control school classes. For this study, 20 schools in Hawaii with close to 4000 participating students were recruited. Student smoking behavior and curriculum implementation were comparable by group status. The intervention study has the potential to elucidate how youth respond to an intervention with student involvement that incorporates cognitive and social action components.

Teaching Mikadoism: The Attack of Japanese Language Schools in Hawaii, California, and Washington, 1919-1927

Teaching Mikadoism: The Attack of Japanese Language Schools in Hawaii, California, and Washington, 1919-1927

Surgical Management of Inner Lamellar Macular Hole

The purpose of this study was to determine whether pars plana vitrectomy membrane peeling and fluid-air exchange could improve optical coherence tomography and visual acuity outcomes in a patient with an inner lamellar macular hole when the patient remains in the face-down position for 3 days after surgery. Three weeks postoperatively, optical coherence tomography revealed a normal macular contour. Two months postoperatively, best-corrected visual acuity improved from 20/60 to 20/30. Surgery may be a useful option to study further in patients with symptomatic inner lamellar macular holes.

Teaching Mikadoism: The Attack on Japanese Language Schools in Hawaii, California, and Washington, 1919-1927

Book Review| October 01 2006 Teaching Mikadoism: The Attack on Japanese Language Schools in Hawaii, California, and Washington, 1919-1927 Teaching Mikadoism: The Attack on Japanese Language Schools in Hawaii, California, and Washington, 1919-1927, Noriko Asato. Eiichiro Azuma Eiichiro Azuma Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Journal of American Ethnic History (2006) 26 (1): 109–110. https://doi.org/10.2307/27501796 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Permissions Search Site Citation Eiichiro Azuma; Teaching Mikadoism: The Attack on Japanese Language Schools in Hawaii, California, and Washington, 1919-1927. Journal of American Ethnic History 1 January 2006; 26 (1): 109–110. doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/27501796 Download citation file: Zotero Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All Scholarly Publishing CollectiveUniversity of Illinois PressJournal of American Ethnic History Search Advanced Search The text of this article is only available as a PDF. Copyright 2006 Immigration and Ethnic History Society2006 Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

Near Elimination of Hepatitis B Virus Infections Among Hawaii Elementary School Children After Universal Infant Hepatitis B Vaccination

Hawaii implemented routine infant hepatitis B vaccination in 1992 and required it for school entry in 1997. Previously, in 1989, a serologic survey among Hawaii school children in grades 1 to 3 indicated that 1.6% had chronic hepatitis B virus infection, and 2.1% had resolved infection. We conducted a follow-up survey to examine changes in hepatitis B virus infection rates. This study was performed in Oahu, Hawaii, during the 2001-2002 school year among children in grades 2 and 3. Consenting parents/guardians provided demographic information including place of birth. Participants were tested for serologic evidence of hepatitis B virus infection and their vaccination status was determined by reviewing school records. Rates of symptomatic acute hepatitis B among persons aged < or = 19 years were calculated from cases reported from Hawaii to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention between 1990 and 2004. Completed hepatitis B vaccination series were documented for 83% of the 2469 participants by age 18 months and for 97% by age 5 years. Past or present hepatitis B virus infection was detected among 6 participants (0.24%), including 1 (0.04%) with chronic infection and 5 (0.20%) with resolved infections. Compared with the 1989 survey, these prevalences represent declines of 97% and 90% in chronic and resolved hepatitis B virus infections, respectively. The incidence of symptomatic acute hepatitis B in Hawaii children and adolescents aged < or = 19 years decreased from 4.5 cases per 100,000 in 1990 to 0.0 during 2002-2004. To date, the last reported case in a child aged < 15 years in Hawaii occurred in 1996. Hepatitis B virus infection has nearly been eliminated in Hawaii children born after universal infant hepatitis B vaccination was implemented. These findings suggest that hepatitis B prevention goals are being met through routine immunization and related prevention programs among US children.

Teaching mikadoism: the attack on Japanese language schools in Hawaii, California, and Washington, 1919-1927

Hawaii sugar plantation managers endorsed language schools but, after witnessing the assertive role of in the 1920 labor strike, they joined public school educators and the Office of Naval Intelligence in labeling them anti-American and urged their suppression. Thus the Japanese language school problem became a means of controlling Hawaii's largest ethnic group. The debate quickly surfaced in California and Washington, where powerful activists sought to curb immigration and economic advancement. Language schools were accused of indoctrinating Mikadoism to American children as part of Japan's plan to colonize the United States. Previously unexamined archival documents and oral history interviews highlight immigrants' resistance and their efforts to foster traditional values in their American children. They also reveal complex fissures of class and religion within the communities themselves. The author's comparative analysis of the communities in Hawaii, California, and Washington presents a clear picture of what historian Yuji Ichioka called the distinctive histories as well as the shared experiences of Americans.

CEO to Teacher: An Interview with Randy Moore

THE INVOLVEMENT of business leaders in supporting educational improvement and school reform has a long history, but the current wave was launched in the 1980s with the release of A Nation at Risk and books such as Winning the Brain Race, co-authored by former Xerox chairman David Kearns. (1) Kearns went on to become deputy secretary of education under Lamar Alexander during George H. W. Bush's Administration. School improvement efforts continued when in 1996 the National Governors Association collaborated with IBM to convene a summit of 40 governors and 49 corporate executives. The summit resulted in an agreement to pursue higher academic standards, related assessments of student learning, and technological innovations in the nation's schools. The Business Roundtable, a group of chief executive officers of the nation's largest corporations, has had a long-standing strategy of having business leaders lobby for higher standards in education, primarily at the state level. The Business Roundtable promotes standards-based education reform with a focus on the policy changes needed to produce measurable results. It supports the efforts of state business coalitions to improve educational performance at all levels and provides an effective voice for the business community on critical education and work-force policies that affect economic growth. In addition to these organized efforts, several individual business leaders have embraced the cause of improving our nation's schools, including Robert Wilmers, a Buffalo business leader who volunteered to pay for the district's superintendent search and to supplement the new district chief's salary. (2) And perhaps one of the most outspoken and active business leaders in education reform efforts has been former IBM chairman Louis Gerstner, whose work in education spans three decades. While many leading corporate executives have contributed in various ways to efforts to improve public education, I know of only one who has stepped down from his CEO position to actually teach in the public schools for an extended period of time. Randy Moore, a longtime member of the Hawaii Business Roundtable, was president of Oceanic Properties, Inc.--now known as Castle & Cooke Hawaii--from 1984 to 1986, when he became president and director of Molokai Ranch, Ltd. In 1989 he left that position to serve as president and director of the Kaneohe Ranch Company, Ltd., and as executive vice president of the Harold K. L. Castle Foundation. Then in 2001, Moore left the business world to teach mathematics in one of Honolulu's inner-city middle schools. He completed a state-approved teacher preparation program while teaching in Hawaii's single school district on an emergency credential. He had taught for just over three years when the state superintendent asked him to oversee the implementation of Act 51, Hawaii's school reinvention legislation that, among other things, calls for more authority and decision making at the school level. A former Peace Corps volunteer, Randy Moore has many outstanding qualities, but what has struck me most are his thoughtfulness and his humility. His unique experience as a corporate executive turned classroom teacher has provided him with insights that deserve our attention. Hitz: What motivated you to seek a teaching position? Moore: I had two related jobs at the time. One was president of Kaneohe Ranch, which managed real estate owned by various family trusts established by Harold Castle and his wife for the benefit of their children, grandchildren, and their descendants. The other was executive vice president of the Harold K. L. Castle Foundation, a local family foundation established by Harold Castle for the benefit of the community. The foundation, along with other nonprofit and corporate grantmakers, had long grappled with the question of what could be done to help the public schools but had not come to a conclusion. …

Ethnicity, sense of coherence, and tobacco use among adolescents

Prevention of youth smoking has great potential to improve the health of Americans. There is limited information about correlates of tobacco use among adolescents from ethnic minority groups, especially Asians, Pacific Islanders, and Native Hawaiians. This article examines the relationships among ethnicity, sense of coherence (SOC), and tobacco use. We conducted a baseline survey of a cluster randomized tobacco prevention trial in public middle schools in Hawaii with a multiethnic sample of 3,438 seventh-grade students. Ethnic differences in smoking prevalence were very large, with high smoking rates among Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, White, and Filipino students and with low rates among Japanese and Chinese students. Higher SOC scores predicted significantly lower risk of having ever smoked and of smoking in the past 30 days. SOC was most strongly related to ever smoking among Filipino, Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, and White students; Japanese students experienced the strongest protective effect from SOC for past-month smoking. The results suggest that SOC is strongly associated with tobacco use among this age group. It will be important to examine whether SOC can be improved by an intervention program and whether increases in SOC are associated with reduced smoking.

Comprehensive School‐Based Violence Prevention Training: A Developmental‐Ecological Training Model

Counselors have a professional and ethical responsibility to deal with the complex and pervasive forms of violence that are manifested in our society. This article provides a description of a theoretical training model that was used to build comprehensive violence prevention programs in 4 elementary schools in Hawaii. Data generated from an evaluation of this project suggest that the training model outlined in this article is a useful way for counselors to foster the development and implementation of comprehensive violence prevention programs in school settings.

Nora Okja Keller and the Silenced Woman: An Interview

Nora Okja Keller (1965-) is a writer based in She was born in Seoul and her family moved to the United States when she was three. After studying English and Psychology at the University of Hawaii, she earned her master's degree in American literature at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her first book, Comfort Woman (1997), is inspired by the testimony of Keum-ja Hwang, who had the courage to break the silence of half a century and talk about what the colonizer did to her and to her country during World War II. In 1941, Hwang, at the age of twenty, was tricked into the Japanese military scheme of mobilizing Korean young girls, as many as 200,000, as sex objects for soldiers. Keller's novel evoked a sensational response from readers in many countries and served as a catalyst for addressing issues of colonialism, patriarchy, sexuality, and gender. Keller's second novel Fox Girl, was published in April 2002 by Viking and shows Keller's continued interest in the silenced status of women. Using the Korean legend of the fox girl Keller directs our attention to women who struggle to survive at the lowest rung of the social ladder as prostitutes. This interview is an integration of an email interview with an in-person interview, when Keller came to Berkeley to give a reading of Fox Girl on April 30, 2002. I have merged these parts into a continuous flow of conversation. Lee: You say that being raised by your Korean mother involved a lot of absorption of Korean sensibilities and culture. Could you be more specific about this? For instance, do you mean that she helped shape the world of your imagination by telling you stories or folktales? Keller: Not so much my mother, but my older brother and older sister, told me very many folktales and stories before so I grew up with those types of stories in my mind. Of course, there's always food. There's always customs.... Lee: And the way you make a judgment on things, the way you shape up your opinions? Keller: Perhaps, but that's hard to say if that comes from my mother's Korean upbringing. That's hard to say, because I'm a mixture of very many things, so I cannot say, Oh, this part is Korean, this part is American, this part is from Hawaii. It's all woven together, so I couldn't pick it apart. Lee: Where would you call your home? Keller: Even though I was born in Korea, I left there when I was three, so I started elementary school in Hawaii and grew up there. Lee: Was it a mixed place when you were growing up? Keller: One of the best things about Hawaii is that the majority of people are mixed race in some way or another, so I grew up where that was the norm. And I think I would have had a very different experience if I had grown up in either Korea or in the Midwest, say, in the States. It would be very different. In both places I think I would have been noticeably different, whereas in Hawaii I was very much accepted as a local girl. Lee: So you heard stories mostly from your brothers and sisters? Keller: Yes, because my mother was working so much, I didn't see her at that time, so my brother and sister would tell us all these stories. Lee: And when you were listening to those stories, did you think that you would like to tell stories someday yourself? Keller: No, I just enjoyed listening to the stories; nobody I knew was a writer of any kind. Lee: When did you find yourself wanting to write? Keller: Well, I have always loved books. I love to read. Lee: What kind of books did you read? Keller: Growing up, I read all sorts of things: from science fiction to the traditional canon. I didn't read very many books written by Asian Americans, however, because they weren't available to me. I only became aware of an Asian American literary tradition in college; it caused me to reflect upon my identity and profoundly changed my writing. …

Ethnic differences in the relation between self-reports of negative affect and blood pressure variability in female Hawaii school teachers

Ethnic differences in the relation between self-reports of negative affect and blood pressure variability in female Hawaii school teachers