Aerial Network Assistance Systems for Post-Disaster Scenarios : Topology Monitoring and Communication Support in Infrastructure-Independent Networks

Communication anytime and anywhere is necessary for our modern society to function. However, the critical network infrastructure quickly fails in the face of a disaster and leaves the affected population without means of communication. This lack can be overcome by smartphone-based emergency communication systems, based on infrastructure-independent networks like Delay-Tolerant Networks (DTNs). DTNs, however, suffer from short device-to-device link distances and, thus, require multi-hop routing or data ferries between disjunct parts of the network. In disaster scenarios, this fragmentation is particularly severe because of the highly clustered human mobility behavior. Nevertheless, aerial communication support systems can connect local network clusters by utilizing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) as data ferries. To facilitate situation-aware and adaptive communication support, knowledge of the network topology, the identification of missing communication links, and the constant reassessment of dynamic disasters are required. These requirements are usually neglected, despite existing approaches to aerial monitoring systems capable of detecting devices and networks. In this dissertation, we, therefore, facilitate the coexistence of aerial topology monitoring and communications support mechanisms in an autonomous Aerial Network Assistance System for infrastructure-independent networks as our first contribution. To enable system adaptations to unknown and dynamic disaster situations, our second contribution addresses the collection, processing, and utilization of topology information. For one thing, we introduce cooperative monitoring approaches to include the DTN in the monitoring process. Furthermore, we apply novel approaches for data aggregation and network cluster estimation to facilitate the continuous assessment of topology information and an appropriate system adaptation. Based on this, we introduce an adaptive topology-aware routing approach to reroute UAVs and increase the coverage of disconnected nodes outside clusters. We generalize our contributions by integrating them into a simulation framework, creating an evaluation platform for autonomous aerial systems as our third contribution. We further increase the expressiveness of our aerial system evaluation, by adding movement models for multicopter aircraft combined with power consumption models based on real-world measurements. Additionally, we improve the disaster simulation by generalizing civilian disaster mobility based on a real-world field test. With a prototypical system implementation, we extensively evaluate our contributions and show the significant benefits of cooperative monitoring and topology-aware routing, respectively. We highlight the importance of continuous and integrated topology monitoring for aerial communications support and demonstrate its necessity for an adaptive and long-term disaster deployment. In conclusion, the contributions of this dissertation enable the usage of autonomous Aerial Network Assistance Systems and their adaptability in dynamic disaster scenarios

Improving the performance of a dismounted Future Force Warrior by means of C4I2SR

This thesis comprises seven peer-reviewed articles and examines systems and applications suitable for increasing Future Force Warrior performance, minimizing collateral damage, improving situational awareness and Common Operational Picture. Based on a literature study, missing functionalities of Future Force Warrior were identified and new ideas, concepts and solutions were created as part of early stages of Systems of Systems creation. These introduced ideas have not yet been implemented or tested in combat and for this reason benefit analyses are excluded. The main results of this thesis include the following: A new networking concept, Wireless Polling Sensor Network, which is a swarm of a few Unmanned Aerial Vehicles forming an ad-hoc network and polling a large number of fixed sensor nodes. The system is more robust in a military environment than traditional Wireless Sensor Networks. A Business Process approach to Service Oriented Architecture in a tactical setting is a concept for scheduling and sharing limited resources. New components to military Service Oriented Architecture have been introduced in the thesis. Other results of the thesis include an investigation of the use of Free Space Optics in tactical communications, a proposal for tracking neutral forces, a system for upgrading simple collaboration tools for command, control and collaboration purposes, a three-level hierarchy of Future Force Warrior, and methods for reducing incidents of fratricide

EMERGENCY CARE: EMOTIONAL CONTROL An exploration of what constitutes emotional labour for a UK paramedic

This thesis draws on a small-scale, mixed-methods study of paramedics working for the North East Ambulance Service NHS Trust in order to extricate whether the performance of emotional labour is significant for the paramedic role. A depth in meaning is created through the development of a generic quadripartite integrated framework of the process of emotional labour contextualised for use by this inquiry through exposure to the prehospital emergency care discourse. This framework explains how performances triggered by antecedents carry consequences that can be mediated through interventions whose significance has previously been overlooked. It transposes into a deductive ‘a priori’ codebook / template within which data stemming from both qualitative and quantitative data streams is both organised and explained. As the voices of the paramedics, released from interview transcripts, mingle with observed scenarios they create a richly layered account highlighted by the judicious use of descriptive statistics offered by two self-reports. In addition to addressing the principal research question that inquires ‘what constitutes emotional labour for the UK paramedic’ this thesis also enlarges the sociological imagination on organisational emotionality by exposing how the framework fuses the interactional demand on a role with the individual process of emotional labour previously theorised separately

Humanitarian Aid Workers\u27 Perceptions of Stress Management Services

Humanitarian aid workers live and work in harsh circumstances far from loved ones and support mechanisms. The problem is that international aid must continue to work effectively despite stress levels. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand how aid workers perceive their work-related stressors, examine their subsequent experiences of in-house stress management services, and describe the factors that influence aid workers\u27 decisions to access in-house stress management services. The conservation of resources theory was used to understand aid workers experience of stress. A purposive sampling technique was used to identify 12 aid workers with a minimum of 5 years of field experience. Data were collected through semistructured interviews conducted via Skype. After the data were reviewed, unit meanings were assigned and grouped to develop themes. The themes generated were organizational culture, social support, operational environment, the aid worker, adapting and strategizing, stress management services, and services. The greatest stressors participants reported related to the lack of safety and unpredictable working environments, and their experience of accessing stress management services were varied. Assurances of confidentiality and professionalism were the key factors that influenced aid workers engagement with stress management services. Participants received a summary of the findings which included recommendations for aid organizations on improving stress management services for aid workers. The results of this study contribute to the body of knowledge regarding the well-being of aid workers, supporting social change to improve the quality of care for the affected populations they serve

Community Stakeholder Perspectives Around the Strengths and Needs of Unaccompanied Immigrant Minors

Unaccompanied immigrant minors (UIM) are youth who lack lawful immigration status and who are without a parent or guardian in the U.S. who can provide custody and care. By all accounts, UIM experience stressful and traumatic circumstances before, during and postmigration. Most UIM left their home countries due to economic stagnation, poverty, crime and gang-related violence (Kandel et al., 2014); almost half described fleeing societal violence and one in five described experiencing domestic abuse (UNHCR, 2014). During migration, UIM are vulnerable to human trafficking, kidnapping, and other abuses (Kandel et al., 2014). Upon resettlement, UIM sometimes experience extended stays in detention centers, community violence exposure in resettlement areas, and an uncertain future in the U.S., all without family support to buffer these stressors (Alvarez & Alegria, 2016). Not surprisingly, UIM are at increased risk for mental health problems compared to accompanied immigrant youth (Derluyn & Broekaert, 2008; Huemer et al., 2009). Research on protective factors is emerging, but scarce.This presentation describes community stakeholder perspectives around the strengths and needs of UIM. Stakeholders include academic researchers with experience working with UIM; key decision makers in agencies serving UIM; professionals with insider knowledge (e.g., immigration attorneys, psychologists with expertise in asylum evaluations); and community members participating in immigrant-focused coalitions. Stakeholder interviews identified significant need for support for UIM. They noted that UIM need emotional support before, during and after legal interviews when youth must recount traumatic events. Families need support during periods of separations and reunions, which can lead to uncertainty and unanticipated conflict, and foster families sponsoring UIM need parenting support for raising children facing difficult circumstances. Stakeholders also noted role conflicts that arise when simultaneously addressing the legal and mental health needs of UIM and the emotional toll that this work takes on professionals serving UIM

Is a Theory of the Problem Sufficient for a Theory of the Solution? Negotiating Tensions among Research, Practice, Advocacy and Activism in Serving Immigrant Communities

The lives of members of immigrant communities are inevitably shaped by U.S. laws, rapidly-shifting immigration policy, institutional policies and practices (e.g., in schools), and how immigrants are welcomed (or not) by members of host communities (Portes & Rumbaut, 2001). These and other aspects of the context of reception have important implications for immigrant integration, education and employment, and mental health. Accordingly, there have been significant calls for psychologists to take active roles in advocacy and activism, which resonates deeply with many of us. Roundtable organizers are community psychologists working with immigrant communities and seeking to negotiate the tensions that can arise at the intersections of research, practice, advocacy and activism. For example: • APA’s Toolkit for Local Advocacy defines advocacy as sharing information within a system with the assumption that the information will help the system respond effectively; activism, on the other hand, is more likely to indict systems perceived as unjust, perhaps from the outside. How does one choose between--or balance--advocacy and activism? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each for trying to solve specific problems in different contexts? • How does one balance social science and research goals that presumably could provide valuable information in working with immigrant communities with advocacy and activism goals? Can we have one without the other, and if so, should we? • If we integrate these roles, do we run the risk of being perceived as less objective on one hand and less invested in communities (or complicit in injustice) on the other? • Is a theory of the problem sufficient for a theory of the solution? Is it possible to move from problems to solutions without the insight and influence that insiders can provide? Participants will share the (imperfect) ways they have balanced research, practice, advocacy and activism in their work

Unmet goals of tracking: within-track heterogeneity of students' expectations for

Educational systems are often characterized by some form(s) of ability grouping, like tracking. Although substantial variation in the implementation of these practices exists, it is always the aim to improve teaching efficiency by creating homogeneous groups of students in terms of capabilities and performances as well as expected pathways. If students’ expected pathways (university, graduate school, or working) are in line with the goals of tracking, one might presume that these expectations are rather homogeneous within tracks and heterogeneous between tracks. In Flanders (the northern region of Belgium), the educational system consists of four tracks. Many students start out in the most prestigious, academic track. If they fail to gain the necessary credentials, they move to the less esteemed technical and vocational tracks. Therefore, the educational system has been called a 'cascade system'. We presume that this cascade system creates homogeneous expectations in the academic track, though heterogeneous expectations in the technical and vocational tracks. We use data from the International Study of City Youth (ISCY), gathered during the 2013-2014 school year from 2354 pupils of the tenth grade across 30 secondary schools in the city of Ghent, Flanders. Preliminary results suggest that the technical and vocational tracks show more heterogeneity in student’s expectations than the academic track. If tracking does not fulfill the desired goals in some tracks, tracking practices should be questioned as tracking occurs along social and ethnic lines, causing social inequality

Responsible AI and Analytics for an Ethical and Inclusive Digitized Society

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