Robert J. Conlan - Honolulu, Hawaii
Waikiki Beach with downtown Honolulu, Pearl Harbor and the Waianae Range
in the background viewed from the top of Diamond Head.
I am a High School Teacher in the Hawaii Public Schools and an ABD
Ph.D. Researcher and Lecturer in
Political Science at the University of
Hawaii at Manoa. in the final writing stages of my dissertation.
The University System currently enrolls 50,317
students, with 6,195 pursuing graduate studies at the Manoa
campus located on some 300 acres in a residential section close to the
heart of Honolulu, the state capital. UH's academic quality, diverse
student body, unique location and status as one of the few Carnegie One
Research Universities in the US that is a land, sea and space grant
institution make it a stimulating and challenging place to be.
Life in
Paradise.
Many imagine
Hawaii as only a tropical beach and large parts of the island chain
are like that. However, Honolulu, where I
live,is a stunningly beautiful city with a unique cosmopolitan cultural
ambience. It recently was named "the most livable, sustainable large city on the planet"
by the U.N.-endorsed International Awards for Livable Communities.
Mix Boston, Los Angeles, Manila, Singapore and Tokyo,
put the combination in a Gauguin painting and add the scent of ginger
flowers,
in-town surfing
beaches,
freeway traffic and you have Honolulu.
Hawaii's economy, is
growing strongly.
Waikiki Beach in front of Royal Hawaiian Hotel. (Right)
Click to take a
virtual tour of the Hawaiian Islands or listen live to the
whales off
Maui.
Research Interests
My dissertation centers on the changing roles of the state, civil
society and politics in a globalized networked economy forced to
deal with terrorism. I am interested in how this knowledge based, globalized,
political economy is being shaped especially by the
industries fueling
e-government such as management consulting and
information/communication technology. My focus is on how
management consultants and e-government are affecting national
security, government structure, public policy, social and
physical mobility, civil society, terrorism and democracy.
Current Activity
Downtown Honolulu and Harbor. City Hall and State Capital on the Right.
In addition to my teaching, I have defended my dissertation proposal and
successfully
completed my Ph.D. final exams. I am now
completeing a dissertation titled "The Evolving Politics of the Market
State's Reflexive Knowledge Economy: E-Government and
Management Consultants".
The Dissertation is an inquiry into the role that management
consultants have assumed in the public policy process. It is an
assumption that the world is, in some demonstrable ways,
developing into what might be viewed as a knowledge economy and
reflexive society.
One result is that nation states are evolving into "market
states" as globalization undermines the nation state's collectivist
values and sovereignty while the emerging market state turns its
attention to the benefit of individuals. To a significant degree, the
management-consulting firms studied are essential actors in the
reflexive nature of this new market-state economy and their public
policy work and influence is an important indicator of the shifting
sources of power.
Nowhere is their impact more visible and far ranging in its
consequences for both government and citizens than in the area of
e-government. My work includes case studies on the e-government
activities of the City
of Honolulu and the State of Hawaii.
The Dissertation Chair is former UH Vice President and Professor
Deane
Neubauer. The other members of my dissertation committee are
Professors
James Dator, Jon
Goss,
Sankaran Krishna and
Neal Milner.
The State Capitol and City Hall are on the right in the above view of
downtown Honolulu and the harbor.
Personal Interests
Honolulu is compact and perfectly scaled for my favorite
sport of cycling. The
easy access to the sea and mountains plus the pacific areas of the
neighbor islands makes it an ideal place for the swimming, diving,
sailing, hiking, camping, reading, dancing and good food that are my
passions.
Hawaii's role as the Asia-Pacific internet hub allows me to
keep in touch with other researchers and supports my volunteer work with
the Mobility Policy Institute, Natural
Resources Defense Council
, the World Wildlife Fund and
other environmental, human rights and local political groups.
Take a
virtual walking tour of Honolulu. The University is stop number seven.
This view is Poipu Beach on Kauai.
Contact Information
Phone: 310 796-7454
e-mail me.
Updated 1/7/08 - http://www2.hawaii.edu/~conlan/