Soft Skills: The Importance of Empathy in an Online Writing Center Appointment

Writing center tutors must practice being empathetic with the students they work with. Students tend to feel their writing is a representation of their worth. As tutors, especially in the online setting, we must find ways to connect with students as collaborators, learners, and fellow writers. This requires that we remember that the student and their wellbeing are more important than the writing. This also means that we should focus on the writer and their development over the expectations we or their professors may hold. Empathy is an important soft skill that we must practice, develop, and put to use to benefit the students we tutor and our own future

Performance comparison between Java and JNI for optimal implementation of computational micro-kernels

General purpose CPUs used in high performance computing (HPC) support a vector instruction set and an out-of-order engine dedicated to increase the instruction level parallelism. Hence, related optimizations are currently critical to improve the performance of applications requiring numerical computation. Moreover, the use of a Java run-time environment such as the HotSpot Java Virtual Machine (JVM) in high performance computing is a promising alternative. It benefits from its programming flexibility, productivity and the performance is ensured by the Just-In-Time (JIT) compiler. Though, the JIT compiler suffers from two main drawbacks. First, the JIT is a black box for developers. We have no control over the generated code nor any feedback from its optimization phases like vectorization. Secondly, the time constraint narrows down the degree of optimization compared to static compilers like GCC or LLVM. So, it is compelling to use statically compiled code since it benefits from additional optimization reducing performance bottlenecks. Java enables to call native code from dynamic libraries through the Java Native Interface (JNI). Nevertheless, JNI methods are not inlined and require an additional cost to be invoked compared to Java ones. Therefore, to benefit from better static optimization, this call overhead must be leveraged by the amount of computation performed at each JNI invocation. In this paper we tackle this problem and we propose to do this analysis for a set of micro-kernels. Our goal is to select the most efficient implementation considering the amount of computation defined by the calling context. We also investigate the impact on performance of several different optimization schemes which are vectorization, out-of-order optimization, data alignment, method inlining and the use of native memory for JNI methods.Comment: Part of ADAPT Workshop proceedings, 2015 (arXiv:1412.2347

DecaFS: A Modular Distributed File System to Facilitate Distributed Systems Education

Data quantity, speed requirements, reliability constraints, and other factors encourage industry developers to build distributed systems and use distributed services. Software engineers are therefore exposed to distributed systems and services daily in the workplace. However, distributed computing is hard to teach in Computer Science courses due to the complexity distribution brings to all problem spaces. This presents a gap in education where students may not fully understand the challenges introduced with distributed systems. Teaching students distributed concepts would help better prepare them for industry development work. DecaFS, Distributed Educational Component Adaptable File System, is a modular distributed file system designed for educational use. The goal of the system is to teach distributed computing concepts to undergraduate and graduate level students by allowing them to develop small, digestible portions of the system. The system is broken up into layers, and each layer is broken up into modules so that students can build or modify different components in small, assignment- sized portions. Students can replace modules or entire layers by following the DecaFS APIs and recompiling the system. This allows the behavior of the DFS (Distributed File System) to change based on student implementation, while providing base functionality for students to work from. Our implementation includes a code base of core DecaFS Modules that students can work from and basic implementations of non-core DecaFS Modules. Our basic non-core modules can be modified to implement more complex distribution techniques without modifying core modules. We have shown the feasibility of developing a modular DFS, while adhering to requirements such as configurable sizes (file, stripe, chunk) and support of multiple data replication strategies

Asian Ethnic Fertility In Canada: An Application Of The Minority Group Status Hypothesis

Based on the 1971 Census of Canada, the extent of fertility differentials as well as possible sources of variation in fertility behaviour of the major Asian ethnic groups--Chinese, Japanese, East Indian and other--are studied. Ethnic fertility differentials are examined in their socio-economic and historical context, based on a historical review of Asian ethnic groups in Canada. It is found that each of these ethnic groups have experienced inequality of treatment and discrimination in areas such as employment and services. Also documented are differences in socio-economic characteristics which are shown to be related to family size differences. It is indicated that Japanese are better integrated in the majority society in terms of their socio-economic characteristics. This examination suggests that the lower family sizes of characteristics. This examination suggests that the lower family sizes of Japanese women compared to the Chinese and East Indians may in fact reflect their structural assimilation in Canadian Society. Chinese tend to have larger family sizes and are low on socio-economic indicators. The East Indians are intermediate in their fertiltiy behaviour and have a young age structure.;The theoretical perspective used for explaining the differential fertility among Asian groups is the minority group status hypothesis. Since there has been no consensus regarding the validity of this hypothesis, it has been revised based on comments and criticisms that were available. The revision of the hypothesis tries to distinguish between the two explanations, one involving reduced minority fertility based on structural factors and another involving high minority fertility due to subcultural factors. The revised hypothesis also includes the introduction of new concepts such as ascribed and perceived minority status. The minority which is conscious of its minority status is referred to as the perceived minority and the one which is not conscious of its status is called an ascribed minority. The reconceptualization of the hypothesis also emphasizes the measurement of key theoretical concepts including the new concepts introduced. The revised hypothesis has been used to explain the family size differences of Chinese and Japanese in Canada. The results suggest stronger support for the minority status hypothesis among the Chinese indicating further declines in their fertility due to structural factors and similar weaker support among the Japanese is due to their perceived mobility

A study on role of magnetic resonance imaging in the evaluation of intracranial neoplastic lesions

Background: Neoplastic central nervous system (CNS) lesions are a heterogeneous group of diseases with a variable outcome that reflects the precision of diagnosis and the delivery of optimal and specific treatment. CNS imaging has a pivotal role in directing management decisions. In the present study, cases of either clinically suspected intracranial neoplastic lesions or already diagnosed cases of neoplastic lesions were studied by cross sectional imaging of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Methods: In this prospective study, 30 cases of intracranial neoplastic lesions were studied by 1.5T Siemens Essenza MR scanner over a period of 6 months. Imaging findings were evaluated and tabulated. Results: Total 30 cases of in intracranial neoplastic lesions were studied aged between 12 to 87 years (17 men and 13 women). Most common presenting complaint was headache. Solitary lesions were present in 21 patients (70%) and multiple lesions in 9 patients (30%). 80% of the lesions were supratentorial, 13.3% were infratentorial and 6.6% were seen in both infra and supratentorial region. 76.6% were intra-axial and 23.3% were extra-axial. Metastasis were the most common neoplastic lesions; glial tumors are the second most common neoplastic lesions. Meningiomas were the most common benign tumors. Mass effect and perilesional edema were the most common associated findings. Conclusions: MRI is the first line of investigation for diagnosis and evaluation of intracranial neoplastic lesions with reasonable degree of diagnostic accuracy. Neuroimaging in combination with clinical findings can be helpful in early diagnosis and timed intervention

Metal (II) Complexes Derived from Naphthofuran-2-carbohydrazide and Diacetylmonoxime Schiff Base: Synthesis, Spectroscopic, Electrochemical, and Biological Investigation

A new Schiff base and a new series of Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Cd(II), and Hg(II) complexes were synthesized by the condensation of naphthofuran-2-carbohydrazide and diacetylmonoxime. Metal complexes of the Schiff base were prepared from their chloride salts of Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Cd(II), and Hg(II) in ethanol. The ligand along with its metal complexes have been characterized on the basis of analytical data, IR, electronic, mass, 1HNMR, ESR spectral data, thermal studies, magnetic susceptibility, and molar conductance measurements. The nonelectrolytic behaviour of the complexes was assessed from the measured low conductance data. The elemental analysis of the complexes confirm the stoichiometry of the type CuL2Cl2 and MLCl2 where M = Ni(II), Co(II), Cd(II), and Hg(II) and L = Schiff base. The redox property of the Cu(II) complex was investigated by electrochemical method using cyclic voltammetry. In the light of these results, Co(II), Ni(II), and Cu(II) complexes are assigned octahedral geometry, Cd(II), and Hg(II) complexes tetrahedral geometry. In order to evaluate the effect of metal ions upon chelation, both the ligand and its metal complexes were screened for their antibacterial and antifungal activities by minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) method. The DNA cleaving capacity of all the complexes was analysed by agarose gel electrophoresis method

Effecacy of Kadali Kshara Sutra in the Management of Bhagandara (Fistula-In-Ano) - A Case Report

Bhagandara (Fistula in ano) is a common anorectal condition prevalent world wide, and its prevalence is second highest after Arshas (Haemorrhoids). Kshara Karma is a one of the parasurgical procedure in Ayurveda. In this study Palasha Kshara Sutra is used in Bhagandara (Fistula-in-ano). Though, Apamarga Kshara Sutra is highly effective in the management of Fistula-in-ano. But pain, irritation, difficulty in preparation has limited its use. Thus, various type of Kshara Sutra tried with their efficacy in different angle. In this present study effort will be made to define the probable mode of action of Palasha Kshara Sutra prepared in Arka Ksheera in Fistula-in-Ano. This is equally effective with less pain and easy to prepare because a single plant is enough and not a seasonal plant. A 56 yr old male presented with complaints of painful swelling with pus discharge in the anal region since 1 week has been presented here

a collaboration among refugee newcomers, migrants, activists and anthropologists in Berlin

In 2015, Germany entered what would later become known as the ‘refugee crisis’. The Willkommenskultur (welcoming culture) trope gained political prominence and met with signifi cant challenges. In this article, we focus on a series of encounters in Berlin, bringing together refugee newcomers, migrants, activists and anthropologists. As we thought and wrote together about shared experiences, we discovered the limitations of the normative assumptions of refugee work. One aim of this article is to destabilise terms such as refugee, refugee work, success and failure with our engagements in the aftermath of the ‘crisis’. Refugee work is not exclusively humanitarian aid directed towards the alleviation of suff ering but includes being and doing together. Through productive failures and emergent lessons, the collaboration enhanced our understandings of social categories and the role of anthropology