The Weaponization of Deep Fakes

On August 19, 2021, the Canadian Association for Security and Intelligence Studies (CASIS) Vancouver hosted a digital roundtable titled The Weaponization of Deep Fakes: Threats and Responses conducted by our guest speaker, Dr. Hany Farid, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley School of Information. The presentation was followed by a question and answer period with questions from the audience and CASIS Vancouver executives.

Rooting for Wellness: An Initiative Introducing Plant-Based Nutrition to First Year Medical Students

Advances in preventive medicine have demonstrated the crucial role of whole-food unprocessed plant-based nutrition in reducing disease burden. Nutrition education and plant-based nutrition is seldom included in medical curriculum and is thus seldom incorporated into clinical care. Additionally, personal exposure to lifestyle modifications, including nutrition and diet, is associated with a provider’s willingness to recommend lifestyle modifications in clinical encounters. We offer this editorial to our fellow health professions’ students, practicing healthcare providers, and those community leaders intending to advocate for the patient population via evidence-based curricular enhancement. Our primary effort, Rooting for Wellness, consisted of a mandatory four-week segment within Wayne State University School of Medicine’s (WSUSOM’s) Patient, Population, Physician and Professional (P4) curriculum, which culminated in a required half-day event consisting of patient/provider panels and an interactive cooking demonstration. Prior to the curriculum, we provided several voluntary extracurricularopportunities for plant-based engagement including a 4-week plant-based kickstart program, cooking demonstration, journal club, and guest speaker events. To our knowledge, this is the first exclusively mandatory plant-based nutritional intervention undertaken at a medical institution in the United States. The strategy presented here may serve as a model for similar initiatives at a variety of institutions and settings.

FOSIC2020: Science and Technology in Combating Current and Future Global Challenges (LASU Virtual Conference, 2- 4 December 2020)

The Lagos State University 7th bi-annual Faculty of Science International Conference 2020 tagged LASU FOSIC2020 was held virtually from 2nd-4th December, 2020. The theme of the conference was Science and Technology in combating current and future global challenges. To justify the theme, different sub-themes were combined cutting across biological/medical, chemical and physical sciences including: global ecology and challenges of combating infectious human and zoonotic diseases, emerging perspectives on epidemiology of infectious diseases, post COVID-19 effects on fisheries and aquaculture, molecular approaches in curtailing the scourge of diseases, chemistry of natural resources for sustainable product development, medicinal plants as antidotes, dynamical system analysis, modelling and optimization, artificial intelligence in the 4th industrial revolution, and demystifying 5G technology: the role of physics in tackling global health challenges. This summary therefore presents some of the observations raised at the conference. Topical models and practical strategies at flattening the curve of COVID-19 pandemic in African most populous city, Lagos was presented by the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, while Director General of the Nigerian Institute for Medical Research delivered the keynote address followed by the special guest speaker from Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General hospital, USA amongst others. To the best of our knowledge, FOSIC2020 was the first free and 100% virtual international conference organised by any Nigerian University to date. Overall, a total of 130 papers were presented by researchers out of the 334 registered participants representing 36 institutions from 14 countries across the world. FOSIC2020 was declared closed with a free technical workshop focusing on V2V global partnership from vulnerability to viability project by the team leaders from the University of Waterloo Canada and Lagos State University with members of panel as postgraduate students across different countries. Free electronics book of abstracts and certificates were given to all the participants.

Radicalization and Violent Extremism in the Era of COVID-19

On January 21, 2021, the Canadian Association for Security and Intelligence Studies (CASIS) Vancouver hosted its first digital roundtable event of the year, Radicalization and Violent Extremism in the Era of COVID-19. The presentation was conducted by guest speaker, Dr. Garth Davies, an Associate Professor in the School of Criminology at Simon Fraser University. He is also currently involved in developing data for evaluating programs for countering violent extremism. Dr. Davies’ presentation provided an overview of the changes that society has had to make in adapting to the COVID-19 pandemic and shared some of his research findings on radicalization and violent extremism online during the pandemic. The increase in working remotely and being on the Internet has possibly contributed to a larger dissemination of misinformation leading people to certain extremist sites and forums that may contribute to radicalization. Additionally, Dr. Davies answered questions submitted by the audience, which focused on online radicalization, online platforms used for recruiting by extremist groups, misinformation, and the Incel movement.

Peningkatan Kemampuan Penyusunan Laporan Keuangan Sesuai SAK-EMKM (Pelatihan untuk Pelaku UMKM Binaan Pemkot Bekasi)

Permasalahan yang dihadapi oleh pelaku UMKM secara umum adalah tidak tersedianya laporan keuangan yang dapat digunakan untuk mendapatkan pembiayaan dari bank dan juga institusi keuangan lainnya. Berdasarkan hal tersebut, kegiatan PkM ini dilakukan dengan tujuan untuk meningkatkan pengetahuan dalam membuat laporan keuangan yang sesuai dengan SAK-EMKM untuk peminjaman dana ke bank. Pelatihan dilakukan kepada pelaku UMKM binaan Pemerintah Kota Bekasi. Metode yang digunakan dalam pelatihan ini adalah pemaparan mater di dalam kelas oleh dosen sebagai narasumber dan dibantu oleh asisten dosen serta mahasiswa sebagai pendamping peserta. Total partisipan sebanyak 40 dan terbagi menjadi dua kelas. Kegiatan PkM dilakukan dari 4 Oktober 2019 hingga 12 Desember 2019. Hasil dari kegiatan ini memuaskan seperti yang terlihat dari hasil kuisioner kepuasan bahwa kegiatan pelatihan ini dapat meningkatkan kemampuan peserta dalam membuat laporan keuanganKata Kunci: Laporan keuangan; SAK-EMKM; UMKM Improvement of Preparing Financial Statements Ability According to SAK-EMKM (Training for SME under Pemkot Bekasi)ABSTRACT The problem faced by SMEs in general is they do not have financial reports that is accepted as a basis to provide loan funds by banks or other financial institutions. For this reason, the PkM activities are carried out with the aim of increasing knowledge in preparing financial statements in accordance with SAK-EMKM for lending funds to banks. Training is given to SMEs that are under Pemerintah Kota Bekasi. The method that used in this training is carried out in a class where each class is guided by a lecturer as a guest speaker and assisted by an assistant lecturer and a student as a participant companion. The total number of participants was 40 and divided into 2 classes. The PkM activity was conducted from October 4th, 2019 to December 12th, 2019. The PkM result is satisfying as seen from the results of the satisfaction questionnaire which stated that this training activity was able to increase their capabilities and their skills related to the preparation of financial statements.Keywords: Financial reporting; SAK-EMKM; UMKM

Journal Reflections in Student Learning: Morgan State FCS Students Share During the Pandemic

The following are journal reflections written by Morgan State University Family and Consumer Sciences-Fashion Merchandising students in 2020, during the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. As we navigated through a semester that should have had students completing practicum credits, they instead wrote about recouping the time and identifying alternative endeavors that would still meet course objectives. <br/>Many emotions were shared through these journal entries—fear, discouragement, disappointment—but they weren't all negative emotions. Some included hope and perseverance. There was even a journal entry written on a successful costume designer (guest speaker) who challenged them to think of innovative ways to design for a post-COVID-19 apparel industry. The entries below, written during the spring semester—January 2020 thru May 2020—are in chronological order, listed by date. They were written by 13 different students.<br/> It is my hope that readers experience a level of empathy and acceptance for themselves after going through this pandemic. It has been an unprecedented year. Hopefully, you will be encouraged by the freedom of expression that is evident in the entries below.

Engaging the Experts to Embrace the Future: An Interactive Professional Learning Experience

We present the results of a research study exploring whether an integrated professional-student learning experience can better address the urgent demand for data-savvy, collaborative students ready to contribute on day one of their professional careers. The Interactive Professional Learning Experience (IPLE) brings practitioners into the classroom to work with students in an active learning setting. Our IPLE includes four steps: a guest speaker presentation to introduce the topic, assignment of a case project to student teams, a collaborative lab session with professionals and student teams, and finally, presentations to the original guest speaker and class. Pre- and post-test assessments indicate significantly positive improvement in student learning as compared to two other course sections that did not include the full IPLE. Questionnaire responses indicate overwhelmingly positive perceptions of the experience, including improved learning, satisfaction, and effectiveness. Overall, student feedback indicates the IPLE was an effective learning mechanism for students that simulates what they will encounter in the profession.

IAU President Walter Kamba (1990–1995): A Man of Conscience

In June 1983, I participated, as representative of the University of Mauritius, in a training course on improving teaching and learning for academics from different African universities. It took place at the Roma campus of the National University of Lesotho. One afternoon, we were introduced to a distinguished guest speaker, Professor Walter Kamba, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Zimbabwe.

REMOVING RETICENCE LEADING TO TRANSFORMATION IN NEGATIVE PERCEPTION THROUGH EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

The high demand in salesforce could not generate business students' shift towards this profession despite prevailing global unemployment. Removing students' reticence about sales careers can help motivate them to espouse sales careers, meet this demand-driven profession's challenges, and help eradicate unemployment. This study examines the impact of role-playing and guest speaker expert presentation through experimental research design by using a randomized trial method in changing students' negative perceptions about a sales career with the intent to pursue it. This study used the t-test analysis that depicted the students' perception regarding sales career and the regression analysis that elucidate a direct impact of student' perception on their intent to pursue a sales career. The results show that role-play and presentation by guest speaker interventions significantly impact the changing students' negative perceptions about sales careers. The regression analysis shows that all sales perception subscales directly impact students' intent to pursue a sales career. The study is useful for policymakers, sales experts, researchers, and practitioners.