Proof-of-Concept Implementation of the Ahoy Discovery Protocol for Ad-hoc Networks

The context discovery protocol Ahoy has been proposed ear- lier for resource-limited fully-distributed ad-hoc networks. Ahoy has been proven as an efficient context discovery pro- tocol, which generates only little network traffic, in both static and dynamic ad-hoc networks. In this report, we im- plement the prototype of Ahoy and test it on UNIX-like platforms. We show the possibility to implement Ahoy in the real world

Democratic Community as a Public of Others: Combating Failed Citizenship in Refugees

Excerpt Fadi1 was a surgeon for 15 years before he and his family were resettled from Syria to Chicago. Since arriving here, he’s been able to take work as CNA in a nursing home and has been trying to figure out what of his education may be able to transfer so that he can enroll in nursing school. His wife, formerly a CPA, has had more success with gig economy jobs, but her choppy English has led to several failed interviews for full time work. “She’s absolutely fluent in French, but alas we did not arrive there,” (Haarman, 2020). His daughter has been adjusting well, partially because her English has been improving fast, but her failing grades in history courses (of a country she did not grow up in) meant she was not tracked into other AP courses and likely will not be eligible for some scholarships, as there is little time to turn her GPA around before she will graduate from high school next year. Conversations with their neighbors have been awkward since they called the police to Fadi’s apartment, claiming their Eid celebration was too loud. “They tell me I am so blessed to be here,” Fadi shared with a smirk. “I tell them being alive is good and end the conversation.

Dungeons & Dragons & Dewey: Toward a Ludic Pedagogy of Democratic Civic Life Through the Philosophy of John Dewey and Tabletop Role-Playing Games

In this dissertation, which uses philosophical inquiry, I posit that tabletop role-playing games (RPGs) can provide an educative experience for democratic civic life in the Deweyan tradition. Tabletop RPGs present an invaluable resource for ongoing civic formation by encouraging deliberation and consensus building across shared goals and circumstances. Philosopher John Dewey emphasized that democracy is defined by the civic habits and collective action, not formal governance structures. The experience of playing tabletop RPGs can cultivate habitus and space for future and current citizens to practice democratic skills and commitments. Therefore, these games are a means that align with the ends of a civic life that is rooted in an understanding of democracy beyond just a form of governance, and instead, as a process and interactions of a community. Understood this way, tabletop role-playing games can facilitate a ludic pedagogy of democratic civic life. This approach is not just focused on using novel tools to deliver information or a gamified approach to learning. Instead, it calls for an autotelic approach to citizenship formation that prioritizes committed collaboration with others, imaginative and emergent approaches to problem solving, and the ability to critically negotiate systems of power

Imagination Grasping Reality: An Ignatian Foundation for Critical Hope in Jesuit Education

As public faith in higher education faces an all time low, the need for hope to both infuse and be a product of our institutions of higher learning is paramount. Rather than a simple hopeful optimism, Henry Giroux conceptualized critical hope - an educated hope that will form students capable and willing to view themselves and the world through a critical lens and then imagine new ways of proceeding that serve the public good and honor human dignity. Jesuit education, at its best, is rooted in expressions of critical hope with a world-affirming commitment to depth of thought and imagination in service to all of God’s creation. Ignatian pedagogy embraces imagination as a tool to bridge concepts learned in class with the reality of the broader world in a way that embodies Giroux’s hopeful move from critique to possibility. The roots of this come from the Spiritual Exercises and its themes and paradigms. This article walks through the four major movements (or Weeks) of the Spiritual Exercises and makes connections between their major themes, the cycle of the Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm, and what it can illuminate for us about the nature of critical hope in practice. It also recommends critically hopeful practices - examples of teaching and learning praxis that recognizes the larger structural reality of the world and the ways in which the broader reality of systems of oppression impact the way we engage with students and teach. These practices do not stop at critique and instead offer different approaches and ways of proceeding

Bridging the gaps in pediatric pulmonary arterial hypertension

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in children is a progressive and lethal disease, that –despite improved treatment strategies in the recent years- remains incurable and is associated with a poor prognosis. To further improve the quality of life and outcome of these children treatment strategies have to be optimized. Therefore, early identification of children at high risk, a better definition of treatment goals and early initiation of the best combination of available drugs are important pursuits in pediatric PAH. Our research focuses on risk stratification, genetics, risk factors, blood-derived biomarkers reflecting right ventricular remodeling, and treatment strategies in pediatric PAH. First we have shown that a model – composed of different risk factors- can be used to determine the prognosis of children with PAH. With this risk stratification model children with PAH can be classified in a high rand low risk group and therewith appropriate treatment can be started after diagnosis. We have also shown that specific PAH-associated gene mutations are associated with worse clinical presentation and outcome and may therefore also be implemented in risk stratification. In addition, we have shown that serially measured NT-proBNP, a marker of cardiac stretch, is associated with outcome in children with PAH. Also, right ventricular mass and the ratio between right and left ventricular mass determined with cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, are important prognostic markers in pediatric PAH. Finally, we have shown that an intensive treatment strategy in children with severe PAH is associated with improved outcome. This offers perspectives for the future

They did the crime, you do the time: The role of guilt and shame on sentencing severity for psychopathic and non-psychopathic criminal offenders.

This project examines effects of personality on how severely people punish criminal offenders, focusing specifically on guilt- and shame-proneness. Prior work (Tangney et al., 2007) suggests that guilt-proneness is an emotional tendency that prompts reparative behaviors, whereas shame-proneness prompts withdrawal. Further, shame-prone individuals tend to be defensive and more aggressive (Stuewig et al., 2009), which suggests they may be more punitive. Consequently, we hypothesize that guilt-prone individuals will tend to punish criminal offenders less severely than shame-prone individuals, who we hypothesize will punish more severely. We also consider whether the offender’s psychopathic status impacts the severity of their punishment