[Review of] Eileen H. Tamura. Americanization, Acculturation, and Ethnic Identity: The Nisei Generation in Hawaii

Eileen Tamura\u27s new book on the first American-born generation of Japanese immigrants to Hawaii is a well-researched and readable study of the period in the early twentieth century, largely between the world wars, when Japanese immigrants to Hawaii realized they were not going to return home and that they would have generational conflicts with their children, entitled to U.S. citizenship as their parents were not until 1952. An outgrowth of Tamura\u27s 1990 dissertation, The Americanization Campaign and the Assimilation of the Nisei in Hawaii, 1920 to 1940,” Americanization, Acculturation, and Ethnic Identity develops the original topic and works back to the beginning of Japanese immigration to Hawaii, but does not work forward past 1940 to record the monumental changes that occurred in Hawaii. Tamura uses numerous personal interviews she conducted with Nisei and always supports her general statements with anecdotal quotes from the subjects themelves [themselves]. While not an oral history, this study nevertheless employs oral material to document research statistics. As a result, the text comes alive; the reader hears real voices, sometimes in Pidgin English or Hawaii Creole English, but more often the educated voices of the generation caught between two cultures which had much in common (educational goals, puritan work ethic, family and community values) but also much that conflicted (American individualism versus Japanese group consensus, voicing opinions versus keeping a low profile)

[Review of] Edward D. Beechert. Working in Hawaii: A Labor History

For those interested in ethnic experience, the history of Hawaii offers unique insight. Initially a Polynesian island group, with a population related culturally to inhabitants of islands as far afield as Easter Island, New Zealand and Tahiti, Hawaii from the late eighteenth century onwards became the home of Americans, Europeans, Portuguese, Filipinos, Chinese and Japanese, all drawn there for differing reasons. When to this ethnic and racial variation, the complex permutations of class and gender are added, observers of Hawaii\u27s past are witness to a rich range of inter-cultural encounters. In Working in Hawaii, Edward Beechert\u27s particular focus is the experience of ordinary workers, whom he claims have appeared in the histories of Hawaii as exotic figures known primarily by racial labels and stereotypes, while it has been the political leadership of the country, and broad political change, which have previously received predominant attention

Aging, Equality, and Confucian Selves

Liberal democracy aims to treat all adult citizens as politically equal, at least in ideal cases: Once a citizen is over the age of majority, she is deemed a full-fledged member of the community and in theory has equal standing with all other adult citizens when it comes to making policy and participating in the political realm in general. I consider three questions: (1) Is there any plausible alternative to a standard "all adult citizens have equal political standing" model of democracy that could be drawn from a specifically Confucian valuing of elder members of the community? (2) Insofar as there is a plausible alternative, what might it reveal about differences between how liberalism and Confucianism think of human selves as located in time? (3) What sort of difference would it make if the Confucian valuing of age were implemented via informal social norms, on the one hand, or via explicit institutional mechanisms and procedures, on the other

Development of Landslide Warning System

Landslides cause approximately 25 to 50 deaths and US$1 - 2 billion worth of damage in the United States annually. They can be triggered by humans or by nature. It has been widely recognized that rainfall is one of the major causes of slope instability and failure. Slope remediation and stabilization efforts can be costly. An early warning system is a suitable alternative and can save human lives. In this project, an early warning system was developed for a 40-foot-high cut slope on the island of Hawaii. To achieve the objective, subsurface investigations were performed and undisturbed samples were collected. For the purpose of unsaturated soil testing, new testing apparatuses were developed by modifying the conventional oedometer and direct shear cells. The unsaturated soil was characterized using two separate approaches and, later, the results were discussed and compared. The slope site was instrumented for the measurement of suction, water content, displacement, and precipitation. The collected climatic data along with the calibrated hydraulic parameters were used to build an infiltration-evapotranspiration numerical model. The model estimations were compared with the field measurements and showed good agreement. The verified model was used to determine the pore-water pressure distribution during and after a 500-years return storm. Later, the pore-water pressure distribution was transferred to a slope stability software and used to study the slope stability during and after the storm. Based on a 2D slope stability analysis, the slope can survive the 500-year storm with a factor of safety of 1.20. Instrument threshold values were established for water content sensors and tensiometers using a traffic-light-based trigger criterion

Fluctuating fortunes and Hawaiian house prices

Real estate prices in a local market can be driven by an identifiable group of purchasers. In Hawaii, residents of both the U.S. mainland and Japan have been significant purchasers of homes. An analysis suggests that house prices in Hawaii were driven primarily by purchasers from the U.S. mainland for most of the 1975–2008 period. But, during Japan’s “bubble economy” in the late 1980s and immediately thereafter, house prices in Hawaii were driven primarily by demand from Japan.Housing - Prices - Hawaii

Critique [of Racial Identity Among Mixed Adolescents in Hawaii: A Research Note]

This modest research note is on solid ground in recognizing that racial identity prevails in the relatively non-racist, pluralist society of Hawaii. Hawaii\u27s peoples are noted for extending respect and tolerance to the diverse racial and ethnic groups in the State, but pluralism has by no means erased all problems

Racial Identity Among Mixed Adolescents in Hawaii: A Research Note

The islands of Hawaii are well-known for their unique level of racial heterogeneity and admixture, overt norms of racial tolerance and harmony, and temperate climate. Of central interest to the social scientist is the manner in which racial and cultural blending take place in such a complex society, particularly among those of mixed racial origin; Hawaii provides a social laboratory in which to study such processes in depth. This paper, viewing racial identity as an important index of intergroup relations, examines the racial identities and related reasons of forty high school adolescents in Hawaii in order to highlight controlling factors of the social environment

THE EFFECTS OF ALTERNATIVE BEEF IMPORT QUOTA REGIMES ON THE BEEF INDUSTRIES OF THE AGGREGATE UNITED STATES AND HAWAII

The effects of the 1964 and 1979 beef import laws on the beef industries of the aggregate United States and Hawaii are simulated for 1972-81 by linking Hawaii and national econometric models. Although impacts are slight for both models, Hawaii beef prices and production appear to be less affected by changes in beef import rules.International Relations/Trade, Livestock Production/Industries,

Hawaii Health Gaps Report: What's Driving Health Differences Across the State and How Can Those Gaps Be Closed?

Why is there so much difference in the health of residents in one county compared to other counties in the same state? In this report, the County Health Rankings & Roadmaps program explores how wide gaps are throughout Hawaii and what is driving those differences. This information can help Hawaii state leaders as they identify ways for everyone to have a fair chance to lead the healthiest life possible. Specifically, this document can help state leaders understand: 1. What health gaps are and why they matter 2. The size and nature of the health gaps among counties within Hawaii 3. What factors are influencing the health of residents, and 4. What state and local communities can do to address health gaps