We are delighted to celebrate CIS student Margaret (Maggie) Pulver for successfully defending her dissertation on February 27, 2026. Surrounded by family, friends and members of her committee, Maggie presented her research both in person in Hamilton Library and virtually via Zoom. Congratulations, Maggie!
Title: “Using Community Based Participatory Research, Actor-Network Theory, and Social Network Analysis to Explore Agency and Engagement Around Kaho’olawe in the Networked Publics of Instagram”
Abstract: Social media platforms have become an essential space for community engagement and yet, there is a gap in the literature at the intersection of Community Engagement Research and Social Media Research with regards to using the rich large-scale data sets provided by these platforms to examine and better understand small-scale engagement through a community-driven lens. Both the Kaho‘olawe Island Reserve Commission and the Protect Kaho‘olawe ‘Ohana use Instagram as a primary means of online engagement with the greater community around Kaho’olawe. In a previous community-based needs assessment, both organizations identified the need to better understand the types of relationships and social phenomenon that exist in that space, how those online connections are influenced by the offline activities of the Kaho’olawe community, and how the platform can be better leveraged to advance the goals of restoring and revitalizing Kanaloa Kaho’olawe. This dissertation explored patterns of engagement exhibited by the Kaho‘olawe Community on Instagram. The use of hashtags by a sample of the Kaho‘olawe Community, and the patterns of engagement between and among members was examined through the lenses of Social Network Analysis, Actor-Network Theory, and Community Based Participatory Research. The results of the study found that the Kaho’olawe Community is not a single, bounded social group, but a layered, heterogeneous actor-network that crosses offline and online contexts. Community membership is enacted through multiple pathways that include physical access to the island as a volunteer with the KIRC or PKO, continued engagement with the KIRC and PKO beyond community access, self-declared alignment with the values and cultural practices related to Kaho’olawe, and digital engagement with the PKO and KIRC on the Instagram platform. Agency in both the offline and online spaces is established through practice, manifested as participation in huaka’i, ceremony, storytelling, and hashtag use. These results will be used by the Protect Kaho‘olawe ‘Ohana and Kaho‘olawe Island Reserve Commission to better serve Kaho‘olawe through social media communication. This work also contributes to the larger bodies of literature related to Community Engagement Research, Actor Network Theory, and Social Media Studies, by offering an example of using large-scale social media data to unpack small-scale community engagement.
Committee Members:
Dan Suthers, Chairperson
Rich Gazan
Scott Robertson
Patricia Amaral
Davianna McGregor, University Representative