“It Takes a Village!”: Social Capital Building in a Remote Hawai‘i Community

In this cross-sectional study, we investigated the multi-level educational intervention among youth in a low-income, remote community in Hawai‘i, United States. The program aided with middle schoolers’ transition into adulthood through youth-adult partnerships, teen mentoring, and community sustainability. Drawing upon social capital framework, we explored participants’ experiences and how the intervention promoted positive developmental outcomes among the youth. We recruited youth from a rural Title I Middle School in Hawai‘i. Nine youth (nboys=6, ngirls=3; Mage=13; 44.9% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, 44.4% Black or African American, 33.3% White, 22.2. % Asian; participants could select multiple races), teen mentors (ngirls=3; Mage=18), and an adult partner (male; 24 years old) participated in 26 virtual club meetings in Spring 2021. This qualitative study consisted of 27 participants who took part in focus groups and observations. Three themes emerged: skill development, youth-adult relationship building, and sense of belonging. These social components encouraged the sharing of knowledge and feelings among participants on horizontal and oblique directions through reciprocity and helped create a social norm of a supportive environment to make youth feel belonging to the group and the local community. Multi-level interventions that draw upon community resources and youth-adult partnerships can benefit at-risk, minority adolescent populations. We identified non-familial role models and a sense of belonging to one’s community as two key protective factors that may lead to positive cognitive changes when youth transition into adulthood

Maximizing the First-Year Planning Period for Scholarly Publications: Implications for Prospective CYFAR Grant Recipients

One of CYFAR\u27s unique features is the built-in planning year for all grant recipients. We present our evaluation team’s approach during year 1 to establish a foundation and plan for scholarly publications during funding years 2–5. The systematic literature review provided the team with a better understanding of the culture and context of the project’s target population. Collaboration between PI/Co-PI and Evaluator served as a powerful tool to achieving this goal. Not only does this model benefit future CYFAR grant recipients’ and Extension professionals’ curriculum development and program evaluation, it can also inform recruitment efforts and community partnership development

“Life in a year”: Intercultural exchange experiences of secondary school exchange students and volunteer host families

D.Ed

China and ASEAN: strategic partnership or competition over the South China Sea?

M.A. University of Hawaii at Manoa 2014.Includes bibliographical references.This thesis talks about territorial dispute and sovereignty claims over the South China Sea (SCS). The major actors involved are China together with four of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states: the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei. First part of this paper offers an introduction to historical claims over the SCS. Furthermore, it analyzes the significance and major incidents that occurred in the SCS. Can China's military buildup endanger relations between China and ASEAN? Despite the countries' own interests, ASEAN as a whole has shown the most effort in solving the dispute peacefully by using multilateral discussions in pushing towards maritime regulations. In 2002, China settled in by signing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties (DOC) in the SCS. The body of this paper focuses on the ASEAN--China relationship. It discusses ASEAN's approach in dealing with the dispute. It also talks about ASEAN's division within while tackling China as the major power in the SCS sovereignty resolution. ASEAN feels an urge to strengthen its ties with foreign allies, mainly the US and Japan, to counterbalance China's growing political and military power. Lastly, this thesis analyzes the current state of affairs in the SCS