A Hurricane’s Long-Term Economic Impact: the Case of Hawaii’s Iniki

The importance of understanding the macro-economic impact of natural disasters cannot be overstated. Hurricane Iniki, that hit the Hawaiian island of Kauai on September 11th, 1992, offers an ideal case study to better understand the long-term economic impacts of a major disaster. Iniki is uniquely suited to provide insights into the long-term economic impacts of disaster because (1) there is now seventeen years of detailed post-disaster economic data and (2) a nearby island, Maui, provides an ideal control group. Hurricane Iniki was the strongest hurricane to hit the Hawaiian Islands in recorded history, and wrought an estimated 7.4 billion (2008 US$) in initial damage. Here we show that Kauai’s economy only returned to pre-Iniki levels 7-8 years after the storm; though 17 years later, it has yet to recover in terms of its population and labor force. As we document, these long-term adverse impacts of disasters are ‘hidden.’ They are not usually treated as ‘costs’ of disasters, and are ignored when cost-benefit analysis of mitigation programs is used, or when countries, states, and islands attempt to prepare, financially and otherwise, to the possibility of future events.natural disasters, hurricane, Iniki, Kauai, Hawaii

A Hurricane Hits Hawaii: A Tale of Vulnerability to Natural Disasters

Sturm; Klimaveränderung; Makroökonomischer Einfluss; USA; Pazifischer Raum

Energy and Greenhouse Gas Policy in Hawai'i

This item includes a video recording of a Mānoa Faculty Lecture Series presentation that took place in the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa Library and also a flyer for that presentation.Hawai‘i has adopted aggressive goals for the adoption of renewable energy. Electric utilities must provide a minimum of 40% of electricity sales through renewable sources by the year 2030. There are voluntary commitments to achieve 65% by this time, and legislative proposals to achieve 100% by 2040. Dr. Coffman will discuss the federal and state policies motivating renewable energy adoption in Hawai‘i as well as alternative scenarios to achieve higher levels of renewable energy, including economic and GHG impacts

Rowling in the Deep: J.K. Rowling, Transphobia, and Reactionary Fandom

J. K. Rowling, the bestselling author of the popular young adult book series Harry Potter, has recently been recognized for her transphobic comments on Twitter. As of this writing, the author has not come forward to apologize for two separate instances of polemical tweets that targeted the transgender community. An exhaustive literature review reveals numerous studies of socially-mediated transphobia and its effects on fans, but not in the case of Rowling. Based on a discourse analysis of fans and anti-fans\u27 9,000+ tweets from August of 2020 to January of 2023, as scraped and culled from Rowling\u27s Twitter page, this study argues that the author missed at least two opportunities to meaningfully engage with fans and anti-fans on her page and, as such, contributed to a larger culture of apathy around mediated representations of transphobia. The larger issue at stake is how public figures like Rowling engage in questions related to transgender rights and equality in popular discourse, a question that holds larger implications for cultural politics in the present day

Medieval Torture: A Brief History and Common Methods

This essay examines the common devices and practices of torture employed during the medieval inquisition

The Masks of Commedia Del’Arte, Noh Theater and Classical Greece: The Cultural Meanings, Influences and Similarities

This essay examines the use and meanings of masks in Noh, commedia dell\u27art, and classical Greek theatre

The effect of exercise on spatial learning and hippocampal proteins in maternally separated adult rats

Includes bibliographical references.Repeated maternal separation (MS) has been reported to induce changes in hypothalamic-pituitary- adrenal (HPA) axis activity leading to abnormal stress responses later in life. Such alterations have also been linked to poor cognitive function. In contrast, exercise enhances cognitive function. Previously, we reported that MS improved object location memory. However, exercise had no effect on object location memory despite increases in levels of synaptophysin and phospho-extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (pERK) in the hippocampus of non-separated-exercised rats. In the current study, the same MS technique and three-week voluntary exercise regimen were tested to determine their effect on spatial learning in young adult Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. A total of 144 rats were either maternally separated from postnatal day 2 to 14 or designated as controls. At postnatal day 50, rats were transferred to cages with attached running wheels. Approximately half of the rats were allowed to exercise voluntarily in the wheels whilst the wheels attached to the cages of the remaining non-exercising rats were immobilised. Rats were divided into 3 cohorts. Cohort 1 provided baseline levels of pERK, mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphatase-1 (MKP-1) and brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) after exercise. Cohorts 2 and 3 were trained in the Morris Water Maze (MWM) 1 and 15 days post-exercise, respectively. Consistent with our previous findings, pERK was increased in non-separated-exercised rats post-exercise. MKP-1, the regulator of pERK, was also increased in the non-separated-exercised group. BDNF was decreased in the MS non-exercised group but augmented by exercise. All groups trained immediately after exercise performed similarly in the MWM but MS rats from cohort 3 had better reversal spatial memory. According to these results, repeated MS decreased neurotrophic factors but did not alter the plasticity-related proteins measured in this study. However, this phenomenon was not associated with performance in the spatial learning and memory task in the MWM. These current observations support our previous findings that MS can cause adaptations that lead to improved learning and memory in adulthood

Preliminary Evaluation of Efficiency of HOV lane Operation on I-40 Eastbound Memphis, Tennessee

This research is a preliminary ealuation of the effectiveness of the High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane along I-40 eastbound Memphis, TN. This HOVlane is operated from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. during weekdays. Data for the analysis was collected over a two month period in June and July 2011 using standard techniques as well as low cost smart phone apps and consumer grade GPS navigation products. The data collected included hourly volume data, average vehicle occupancy, violation rates, travel times and carbon emissions estimates. The analysis consisted of three methods of measuring effectiveness: increasing person throughput, providing travel time benefits and environmental benefits. To check for statistically significant differences between HOV lane and other GP lanes statistical methods including the two sample t-test and Mann Whitney test were used. a concept of a beffer index was also used to check the travel time reliability for each lane. The result showed that the objective of increasing person throughput is not met for this corridor within Memphis, TN, and recommendations to improve the effectiveness of the HOV lane are presented

Air Pollution and the Pandemic: How Will COVID-19 Shape Hawai‘i’s Response to Global Climate Change?

Responses to COVID-19 provide insights into the climate crisis as well as new norms that may shape our global approach to greenhouse gas mitigation. This essay reflects on the dual crises with lessons learned and opportunities for Hawai‘i