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Interests: My research lies at the intersection of sociotechnical systems and social movements, exploring how cohesion and shared meaning emerge across online and offline spaces in a transnational context. My research methods include qualitative digital ethnography that combines virtual observation, in-person fieldwork, and semi-structured interviews to understand the technological, social, and material dimensions of cohesion within a fragmented social movement.

Interests: Information Security, Information Sharing, Strategic Deterrence, Information Warfare, Mission Assurance, Military Service Member transition, Veteran Communities, Delayed/Disconnected, Intermittent, Low-Bandwidth Operations, Critical Infrastructures, Cybersecurity, Systems and Networking, Security and Privacy, Risk Frameworks, Presumption of Compromise, Ethical Hacking, Government Information Leadership, Consumer Awareness, IoT

Interests: I am interested in examining how cultural identities are built and shaped in the modern world. I enjoy surfing, hiking, training jiu jitsu, reading, spending time with my family, and walking my dog.

Interests: Oral communication, Interpersonal communication, Intercultural communication, Health communication with ICT development, and Social Media research. Currently, I am working on the use of social media continuation on WeChat by using users and gratifications 2.0 as the main framework. 

Interests: I came to communication studies through analyzing soft power and cultural influence of different nations. Growing up in Russia, I was fascinated by how media shapes culture across borders – soft power, cultural imperialism, the way a song or a film can rewrite how people see the world. That curiosity took me to the London School of Economics and USC Annenberg for a dual MA/MSc in Global Media and Communications, where I started connecting the dots between strategic brand management and the way audiences form trust. Between degrees and since, I have worked in public relations, social media management, and media production in London, Los Angeles and New York. Now at ������Ƶ Mānoa, I teach COM 432 Social Media and study how artificial intelligence is reshaping authenticity in digital brand communication – specifically, what happens to audience trust when people discover a machine helped craft the message. I am interested in the space where AI disclosure, perceived brand authenticity, and organizational communication intersect, and I want to understand whether transparency (or intransparency) about AI use builds trust or erodes it. When I am not researching, I am probably debating whether the medium really is the message.

Interests: My dissertation is tentatively titled “A system architecture approach to digital transformations.” It builds on both my work experience and my prior research and publications. Prior research included some of the earliest and formative papers on interactive 3D graphics, the relationship of programming language mechanisms to interactive systems, 3D user interface design, and a redesign of the undergraduate computer science curriculum. Presently, I am a consultant advising organizations on cybersecurity and digital transformation. 

Previous work includes five years at the Chief Information Officer (CIO) for the Hawaiʻi State Department of Education, where my team replaced the Departmentʻs core accounting system, modernized collaboration for all staff and students, and managed the educational technology needed to support distance learning during the COVID pandemic. Prior to that, I was the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for Estee Lauder Companies, a Fortune 500 global retailer and manufacturer. I built the vulnerability management program for Morgan Stanley in response to a nation-state cyberattack, and re-architected core parts of the Bloomberg Terminal Service. I have an AB in art, an ScB in Math/Computer Science, and an MSc in Computer Science, all from Brown University. I am conversational in French and Hawaiian and enjoy stand-up paddling, role-playing games, video games, and wargaming.

Interests: My research interests lie in understanding how ICTs (information communication technologies can be leveraged toward social justice, applying an interdisciplinary approach that includes components of social informatics, community engagement, game theory, cognitive science, persuasive technologies and policy. I analyze digital platforms, UX design and data science to educate and inspire the public towards action. My master’s degree from Washington State University combined communication strategy, content creation and digital media to illuminate environmental issues.

Interests: My academic interests are wide but rooted in information science and systems engineering. Specifically, I enjoy working with diverse, large and complex systems and that interest has brought technical experience in defensive cyber, space systems, and communication systems. Building on my technical experience, I have worked to construct systems to put forward information to improve decision making, better understand risk, and find opportunity in complex and often contested environments. Last year, I added to my work life as a systems engineer and started to conduct research on how a Networked Authoritarian uses techniques to control the information environment. I still often reference lessons from my first post-undergraduate job – High School Mathematics Instructor.

Interests: Aloha, my name is Kapono Gaughen; I was raised on the Big Island, where I graduated from Kealaheke High School in 2010. I graduated from ������Ƶ Manoa with a BA in Biology in 2015, at which time I returned home. I spent the next few years working as a busser, a Park Ranger, and a State Department of Agriculture Pesticide Inspector. I began making videos with my friends sharing our fishing trips, which we posted on YouTube. This ended up having a much larger impact on me than I would have ever expected. The channel grew a strong local community, and I found a possible solution to many of the issues the government agencies I formally worked for were trying to solve. Natural resource managers have a hard time connecting with the users and stakeholders of the environment. On my channel, a community of such stakeholders had self-organized. Could the marketing practices used to connect online communities with businesses work in a resource management setting? I returned in 2021 to Manoa and tested the theory in my Master’s Project. I worked, and I want to dive deeper. I am now here with the CIS program, seeking to understand how social media, online communities, and the environment interact and might benefit one another.

Interests: I have an interdisciplinary background in communication, journalism, international business, and digital media, with experience studying in diverse international academic environments. My research interests lie at the intersection of communication, digital media, and emerging technologies, with interests ranging from the strategic use of artificial intelligence in business to the broader social, ethical, and human dimensions of technology.

Interests: My academic interests span information systems, artificial intelligence, data analytics, network security, and education. While these areas may seem diverse, they reflect my curiosity about technology and its applications across different fields. My interests continue to evolve as I explore new topics, ideas, and research questions. Rather than limiting myself to a single area, I enjoy discovering connections between different disciplines and am continuing to shape my academic and research interests through exploration and experience.

Interests: The Digital Divide is a well-known concept, typically referring to the technology “haves” and “have-nots.” However, less is known about the “cannots” or “will-nots,” who have access to technology but lack the knowledge, skills, or interest to use it effectively. My research interests involve senior citizens, or kūpuna, in Hawaiʻi, their technology knowledge and use, their coping mechanisms when they encounter technological challenges, how public libraries are aiding them, and strategies to further leverage libraries to close this knowledge gap.

Interests: My background is in public relations, and I am interested in researching invisible disabilities in the workplace through an internal communication lens. I enjoy traveling, nature walks, baking, painting and spending time with my dog.

Interests: I hold an MA in Journalism and a BA in Geoscience. I contributed to the proposal for Taiwan’s first IEEE Milestone and have worked as a staff writer for several newspapers and research institutes. My current work focuses on misinformation, fact-checking, and the role of social media in shaping public discourse. I am also passionate about environmental, science, and health communication.

Interests: I am passionate about how library and information science processes can support and elevate Hawaiian communities. My general research interests are Hawaiian librarianship and Indigenous information literacy instruction. My recent work included a focus on research support for Hawaiian Studies faculty, and Hawaiian language descriptive metadata.

Interests: My research explores the intersections of emerging social media, contemporary pop culture, and media equity. Grounded in over five years of industry experience as a content creator in interactive social commerce and brand communication within trending social media, I bring a unique practitioner’s perspective to critical media studies. My current work examines how platform-driven commercialization and fast-evolving social media trends exacerbate contemporary social divides, aiming to leverage these digital cultural forces to foster a more inclusive and harmonious society.

Interests: I am interested in data visualization, data literacy, how groups use data to make decisions and data governance/policy.

���Գٱ������ٲ�:��My interests include optimizing community engagement to benefit women’s health and vulnerable populations in Hawai’i, digital literacy through Hawai’i public access media organizations, technology adoption in highly bureaucratic organizations, data visualization to enhance informed decision making, and examining the extent to which technology, including artificial intelligence, contributes to increased societal efficiency or fosters greater tendencies toward laziness across personal, professional, and educational domains.

Interests: I am interested in studying significant amounts of data that can be analyzed in economies to learn about human behavior, including what causes the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) and what drives speculative assets (like Bitcoin).

Interests: I am interested in applying futures studies theories and methods to music consumption. Specifically, I am interested in investigating how various key drivers such as emerging technologies, affordances, policies and fan labor may shape alternative futures of music consumption.