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My first vacation to Hawaii was in the planning stages at the time and my excitement increased, with the awareness that in addition to the beautiful beaches there were interesting things going on in the Islands. We were not disappointed. In fact, in our moments away from viewing glorious sights and relaxing on the sand, my wife and I found lively cultural developments as well as a new awareness of the importance of cooperative efforts and a professional approach to development.

Hawaii is so much more than just beautiful views.

Interestingly, a negative occurrence, a giant cut in legislative funding for the grants program and administration of the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts–71 percent over the past five years–forced many of the Island’s cultural groups into more entrepreneurial development activities and the lessons learned during lean times have not been forgotten. A number of Hawaiian groups, for example, have forged an ongoing partnership with Honolulu’s Halekulani Hotel. The Hotel, which notes in a flier that it is “committed to supporting the arts in Honolulu,” not only provides sponsorships, but also makes performances by the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra and visits to the Honolulu Academy of Arts and the Contemporary Museum, available to its guests without charge. Arts groups, also, are developing interesting relationships with each other. A partnership between the Wagner Society and the Hawaii Opera Theatre resulted in the first-ever performance of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde in Hawaii this past January.

Among the most exciting developments in the Islands has been the surge of interest in its history and culture. The town of Laihana on Maui, the first capital of Hawaii, is the site for several serious programs, each designed to recapture a different era in the community’s history. Since 1962, the Lahaina Restoration Foundation has been restoring and maintaining historic properties from Lahaina’s 1893-1940 plantation era. On a $550,000 budget, helped by income from its parking lot and from rentals from properties that it owns and leases, the Foundation has been able to operate four museums in houses that it has restored, organize walking tours of historic sites and help to organize other groups who focus on different periods in the community’s rich history. This year, the Foundation plans to open a museum on the second floor of the historic local courthouse.

Focusing specifically on what is known as the pre-contact era–the period before Captain Cook arrived in the Islands in 1778–another group, the Friends of Moku’ula, began as a grass roots operation. With the help of the Restoration Foundation, and the Kaanapali Beach Hotel, which through its employees program helped support it initially, Friends won its non-profit incorporation status in 1995 with goals that included restoring, preserving and protecting historically significant sites, especially the ancient Mokuhinia ponds and Moku’ula, the Hawaiian island at Lahaina, the site of the residences and mausoleums of the Hawaiian kingdom. The program has grown tremendously since its beginnings, winning support from the Hawaii Community Foundation, the Office of Hawaiian affairs and the Administration for Native Americans.

Thanks to a grant from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs for consulting help to develop a business plan, Friends is making progress on an ambitious project to develop a new Hawaiian Living Center, an interactive site where visitors as well as local residents will be able to experience the traditions and learn the history of Hawaii in the pre-contact era. With two of the project’s three phases completed, Friends hopes to raise $8 million to $10 million in a capital campaign set to begin in 2001, with groundbreaking set hopefully for 2003. To boost the campaign, a membership program was launched last year supplemented by a range of special events, including a luau and concert that raised $20,000 and Moku’ula Day at Bubba Gumps Shrimp Company Restaurant, which resulted in a gift of $12,000 from the restaurant, through its donation of 50 percent of the day’s sales to Friends. With its goal of preserving Hawaiian history and traditions and with a board and staff nearly all of whom are native Hawaiians, Friends has se t it sights on targeting successful native Hawaiians for major funding support.

In addition to historic programs focusing on Hawaii’s rich past, the arts in Laihana also have a contemporary thrust. Thanks to the support of local business, who founded the Lahaiana Town Action Committee, regular arts events presented by the Committee draw thousands of visitors to Lahaiana. From income derived from these events, about $30,000 annually goes back to local non-profit organizations.

On the other side of Maui, visitors and locals are drawn to a more modern cultural amenity, the Maui Arts and Culture Center, a $32 million edifice which opened in 1994. With a budget of just over $3 million, the Center presents a wide range of cultural programs featuring local arts as well as established international groups and artists. Offered through the presenting program it initiated last year, were such attractions as the Tokyo String Quartet, pianists Misha and Cipa Dichter and the Kingston Trio. The Center, with about 15 percent of its audience tourists, has set its mark on reaching the local community through its arts events as well as through an ongoing education program that includes among its audience, mainland retirees. In a new phase of its long range plan, the Center has raised $2.4 million for facility additions in recent years and in its next phase it hopes to raise over $6 million in five to seven years to boost its $2.4 million endowment. Among its funding activities, the Center has raised well over $100,000 from the sale of paved stones, embedded with donor names, placed on its walkways.

Nearby in Maui is the small but fascinating Alexander & Baldwin Sugar Museum, which focuses specifically on a linchpin of the Hawaiian economy–the sugar industry. Founded in 1962, the museum was a gift to the community by Alexander & Baldwin Inc. to mark the centennial of one of the company’s key divisions, the Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company. Sitting across the road from the HC&S factory, the museum, in a renovated plantation house that includes scale models of sugar factory machinery and artifacts, dating back to 1878, faces a new challenge. With most of its income derived from admissions and gift shop sales, supplemented by grants from the Alexander & Baldwin Foundation and other sources, its board now faces the task of seriously addressing a need for developing an aggressive fund-raising program.

At a growing cultural institution in one of the big island of Hawaii’s most visited tourist sites, an aggressive development program has been in place in recent years. The Volcano Art Center (VAC) was founded in 1974 in the former guest quarters of the 1877 Volcano House, on the rim of Kilauea, the world’s most active volcano near the Hawaii National Park Visitors Center. It realizes its mission to promote, develop and perpetuate the cultural heritage of Hawaii’s people and their environment through a diverse program of classes, workshops, concerts and exhibits with many art shows featuring the work of over 300 member artists, who display and sell their work at the VAC Gallery. Among the Art Center’s major offerings is its Na Mea Hawaii Programs, a winner of the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau’s annual statewide Kahili Awards for its outstanding promotion of local culture.

The Center, which draws most of the funding for its budget of nearly $2 million from Gallery sales and events, supplemented by funding from government agencies, foundations and individuals, also is host to a famed funding event, the Kilauea Volcano Wilderness Runs, which celebrates its 18th annual program on July 29th. The series of runs, including a wilderness marathon, is the only major running event of its kind in a national park, and attracts nearly a thousand runners from all over the world. Last year, when the event netted $15,000, it received significant funding from the Hawaii Tourism Authority to promote it nationally and internationally.

About 20 per cent of travellers will be confined to bed with what’s called Traveler’s Diarrhea, and 10-20 per cent will develop more serious symptoms of fever or blood in the stools, which suggests invasive disease. Up to 10 per cent will have symptoms for over a week. It can have serious consequences for vulnerable travellers such as the elderly or young children.

Role of the pharmacist

In order to advise on the most suitable treatment, and provide comprehensive and effective information, the pharmacist needs to go through a systematic process that identifies the main risks. Advice can then be tailored to individual needs. This consultation process should be conducted within an agreed protocol or guideline framework and will include a risk assessment and health education.

Risk assessment will identify destination and personal hazards to health, focusing upon appropriate questions to ask and health education advice to be given.

Health education includes the principles of preventing travellers’ diarrhoea and its management. Carefully go through the indications, contra-indications and written instructions for recommended treatments and advice being given.

Prevention of travellers’ diarrhoea

Key areas for prevention include eating and drinking habits, personal hygiene, vaccination, and antibiotic prophylaxis.

Eating and drinking safely

Advice concerning the Do’s and Don’ts of eating and drinking can be confusing. Aim to discuss the key principles for transmission and prevention with examples as shown in Table 1.

When discussing transmission and precautions to take with food and drink, a useful motto is `Cook it, boil it, peel it, otherwise leave it’. This advice can be used in any situation and a traveller will not go far wrong if they let it guide all their food and drink choices.

Water can be made safe to drink in a variety of ways:

* boiling is effective, but may not be practical when travelling. Water should be boiled for at least ten minutes, or longer at high altitude

* chemical sterilisation using chlorine or iodine-based preparations can be carried out anywhere, and is particularly suitable for travel to remote or high altitude areas. Iodine preparations are effective against amoebic cysts but not recommended during pregnancy or in young children, and need discussion if there is an iodine-related medical problem

* water filters/purifiers use chlorine and iodine as part of the treatment process. There is a variety of preparations available, their suitability depending on travellers’ requirements. Their main benefit is convenience.

Vaccination

Typhoid vaccine is associated with the prevention of diarrhoea. If travellers assume this offers complete protection against all causes of travellers’ diarrhoea, reinforce the message that they must still maintain all precautions.

Antibiotics

Prophylactic use of antibiotics in the prevention of travellers’ diarrhoea has been found to be effective. However, there are concerns about side effects and resistance.

Antibiotics are not routinely recommended for prophylaxis but may be considered for vulnerable groups, such as travellers who are at increased risk, are dependant upon local hospitality or who are attending a special event or business meeting.

Management

Travellers need to know how to manage diarrhoea and when to seek medical attention. The main steps to consider in managing the condition are:

1. Identify the severity of diarrhoea. Passing frequent loose stools accompanied by cramps suggests a normal attack of diarrhoea. But travellers need to seek medical attention if:

* they develop a fever

* blood or mucous is present in the stools

* diarrhoea is watery and profuse, leading to rapid dehydration

* severe diarrhoea is accompanied by vomiting.

These signs and symptoms indicate a more serious invasive organism, which will require medical treatment. A rapid loss of fluid leads to dehydration that can be life threatening, particularly in vulnerable groups.

2. Preventing dehydration is the first priority in self-management. Advise drinking plenty of fluids. If patients pass dark urine, this is a sign of dehydration and they must drink more until the urine becomes pale yellow.

3. Oral rehydration therapy (ORT) helps to maintain the body’s fluid and electrolyte balance. It should be recommended to travellers at particular risk of dehydration. Advise taking ORT after each loose stool and drink plenty of additional safe fluids.

4. Antidiarrhoeal preparations are useful if diarrhoea will be a severe inconvenience. They can be taken when attending business meetings, special events, sporting activities or when travelling on long journeys where access to a toilet is difficult. They should be part of the medical stand-by kit for all travellers, except those contra-indicated to their use. Advise travellers of precautions such as using them for only a short duration and not to take them if signs and symptoms indicate a more serious infection.

5. Antibiotics may be considered for standby treatment, particularly for travellers who may be at additional risk, or who are on business, attending a special event or travelling to remote areas. They need to be advised to discuss this with their doctor.

6. Introduce food gradually, trying to avoid solid food in the first six hours to prevent painful cramps. Initially recommend nourishing clear soups or consomme drinks. Gradually progress, as the stools become firmer, to bland foods such as bread, rice, potatoes or biscuits. Dairy products and spicy foods should be avoided until stools return to normal.

7. Hygiene tips, such as washing hands, not sharing water bottles, food utensils, towels or tooth brushes, need to be reinforced.

8. Persistent diarrhoea that is not severe but lasts longer than a week requires a medical consultation.

When advising travellers about the pros and cons of different treatments, it may help to display the information in a table such as Table 2.

Risk groups

At risk groups, including young children, pregnant women, the elderly and those with a current chronic condition, need specific advice:

* dehydration can be more severe, therefore emphasise the need for rehydration with ORT. If accompanied by vomiting, stress the importance of seeking prompt medical attention

* nutrition is important and helps maintain fluid balance. Babies should remain bottle-feeding or breast feeding

* encourage drinking fluids, such as sealed bottled mineral water. When using bottled mineral water for young children, check the mineral content to ensure salt and mineral levels are low.

Game developers are starting to break ranks, moving mainstream and even using their technology and skills in the service of marketing. San Francisco’s Total Entertainment Network, formerly a hardcore shooter site, brought its company from what many call near-death to economic vitality by providing what it terms family games to 12 portals, including Netscape and Excite. “We saw a sweet spot between the family or recreational games and the hardcore,” says Erik Lundberg, TEN’s vice president of sales. The company is expanding its ad model from selling product placements on the backs of playing cards and interstitials between games, to pushing customized games such as product-oriented crosswords.

Games like Atlantica are adding revenue with in-game promotions.

Variations on the product placement ad model are popping up. Fox Interactive, maker of the 2 million-selling kids’ Sony PlayStation title Croc, has begun to offer such placements in its CD-ROM games, starting with Nokia cell phones ads embedded in its X-Files title. Fox Interactive’s latest offering, Croc 2, adds Nabisco LifeSavers to the landscape, replacing the game’s ‘jelly jumps” with the brand’s Gummi Savers, in a strictly cross-promotional effort. “I’m not sure who would pay whom,” admits Scott Marcus, vice president, worldwide promotions and strategic alliances at Fox. “They’re going to be in a game that will hopefully sell a couple more million, they’ll be in our advertising and we’ll be on approximately 6.5 million packages of their candy.”

A true game/ad hybrid is the Tundra Madness Tournament on the MSN Gaming Zone. As an awareness campaign for the new Toyota Tundra pickup truck, garners are invited to buy the MSN CD-ROM game Monster Truck Madness 2, then go to the Zone and customize it into a Monster Tundra truck which can compete in races in a promotional version of the game. The top winner becomes “Duke of Dirt” and wins a real truck.

Adam Waalkes, product unit manager of the MSN Gaming Zone, said this is the site’s most elaborate such promotion since the Zone launched in 1996. “Broad audience games have been successful for us year after year,” he said.

Abject Modernity of Winnipeg, Canada, is one of a number of gaming companies that is also pursuing marketing consulting. Although it makes products calling for potential players to buy talismanic pendants at retail in order to enter its online gaming community, the company estimates that sales of its two games will be only 65 percent of its projected 1999 revenues of Canadian $7.5 million. The rest will come from marketing assignments. “We are working with some ridiculously large multinationals,” says Abject CEO Rod Bruinooge, “helping them to [re]create some of the concepts we’ve found to work.” For example, the company might manufacture a bracelet to be given as a premium by a snack food company that could be used to provide clues in a game on the manufacturer’s site.

While the more old-fashioned games are addictive in their own right, what’s admittedly missing is the creativity, intrigue and immersiveness of hardcore games. Therefore, some companies are turning their hardcore game-making expertise into the business of providing tools that should position them well both now and in the broadband future.

One of those companies is Anark, of Boulder, Col., which, after successfully marketing the adventure game Galapagos in December of 1997, has taken some of its proprietary 3D technology and made Emotion 3D Web Edition, a tool for Web developers to create animations. A public beta version was released on April 22, with a May ship date. At the same time, the Anark Game Studios division was renamed Anark Interactive Media. “We were looking for more predictable opportunities than developing a game,” says marketing director Stephen Collins.

3D features are believed to be what make computer games so immersive, with rival companies touting the superiority of their “game engines,” the software that controls the action. Launch Media of Santa Monica, Calif., will use Eight Cylinder Studios’ game engine and scripting tools to build the next generation of its digital entertainment vehicles. Launch 3D, to be released next quarter, is designed for broadband, and will likely include unusual online ad forms.

Users will be able to wander through virtual worlds that combine audio, video and animation, so that, for example, you might stroll down a graphical city street illuminated by advertising billboards, then enter a bar where a video image of Chris Isaak sings on a stage.

But the experience of Eight Cylinder, Santa Monica, a former game developer for Microsoft’s entertainment business unit, demonstrates that even as publishers such as Launch jump into 3D games, they aren’t aiming for the shoot ‘em up player of old. Says Launch CEO David Goldberg, “Many of the conventions of the game world, we didn’t want at all. They want to get people lost, because a game is supposed to be difficult. We want to make it easy for our users.”