Wednesday, February 7, 2018
UDC Law BLSA Ball 2018!. 2/17/2018 Haitian Embassy Washington, D.C.
UDC LAW BLSA Price:
$25 – $40
Greetings Faculty, Alumni and Friends:
This year, BLSA Ball will be held at
the Embassy of Haiti, with the theme
of "Coming to America," based on the popular late 80s film. We hope
you will join us for what will surely be a regal affair!
The UDC David A. Clarke School of Law Black Law Students Association
cordially invites you to attend UDC Law BLSA Ball 2018! We will recognize
individuals who have been integral to the work and success of BLSA and its
members. A portion of the proceeds received, will be donated to The Brown Bag
Project.
The Brown Bag Project is an
initiative that focuses on addressing homelessness in D.C. by engaging the
community to empower the homeless community.
DATE AND TIME
Sat, February 17, 2018
6:30 PM – 10:00 PM EST
LOCATION
Embassy of Haiti
2311 Massachusetts Avenue Northwest
Washington, DC 20008
Tickets available here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/udc-law-blsa-ball-2018-tickets-42590493312?aff=es2
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Tuesday, February 6, 2018
Future. It's Inevitable. Get Involved. NOW
Inclusion
of all. ‘What happens when everyone has money’.
Consider
every individual in your community having the ability to satisfy basic needs
for shelter, water, food and the ultimate…financial prosperity for themselves,
their family, and community. A new form
of keeping finances within a community.
A
switchover from an old system, to a new system.
There will be concurrent usages of both pre-existing models, and the new
model with the new model surpassing the existing financial model.
Prepare
yourself.
CDS. BEMA International
When the Wright Brothers
invented the airplane in 1903, it was hard to imagine there would be over
500,000 people traveling in the air at any point in time today. In2008 Satoshi Nakamoto created……..
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Monday, February 5, 2018
Applications due by February 23, 2018 Summer Research Experience for Undergraduate Students at Carnegie Mellon University
PIER-REU: Summer Research
Experience for Undergraduate Students at Carnegie Mellon University
Applications are due via
email by February 23, 2018.
The Program in
Interdisciplinary Education Research (PIER) at Carnegie Mellon University
offers an exciting summer research opportunity available to undergraduate
students. This program is designed to provide research opportunities to
undergraduates who may be considering pursuing graduate training in the
learning sciences. We encourage applications from students who would like to
conduct research at the interface of the learning sciences and one or more of
the following disciplines: psychology, education, computer science, and
human-computer interaction. We also encourage students who are from
underrepresented groups to apply, including racial/ethnic minorities,
first-generation college students, economically disadvantaged students,
veterans, and students with disabilities.
PIER’s REU program allows
talented undergraduates to spend 8 weeks during the summer in a research laboratory
at Carnegie Mellon University. This program supports our commitment to training
a diverse set of leaders in the field of learning science and related
disciplines.
Applications are
encouraged from students who wish to learn to conduct research in a modern
academic research laboratory under the guidance of experienced scientists. The
REU program will expose students to the excitement and opportunities of a
research career. This experience will provide excellent preparation for
students interested in subsequently pursuing Masters or Ph.D. degrees in
psychology, education, learning science, human-computer interaction, and
related areas of scientific inquiry. Although students from other years may
apply, this opportunity is most fitting for a student at the end of the junior
year of undergraduate studies.
Each student will receive
a fellowship stipend of $3,000 for the eight-week REU program.
Apartment-style housing will also be provided. Guidance and supervision will be
provided by faculty members as well as, in some cases, a postdoctoral fellow
and/or advanced graduate student.
Additionally, admitted students will participate in the Go
Research! Summer Program at CMU. This program brings together undergraduate researchers from across
departments. Students live in dorms with resident assistants to facilitate community building, manage
housing, and provide programming. A Summer Seminar Series is
provided for all students to help prepare for graduate education and research
careers.
WHIHBCU
Staff
2018...,,Next Generation Global Health Security Professional
Dear Health Security Professional:
Are you looking for ways to
help the next generation of global health security professionals?
Consider becoming a mentor through the
Next Generation Global Health Security (NGGHS) Mentorship Program. The
NGGHS Mentorship Program promotes and supports early to mid-career
professionals and students with an interest in health security.
NGGHS mentors cultivate professional relationships with protégés who
are developing skills to continue promoting a world safe and secure from health
security threats.
Criteria for Mentors
Mentors are experienced health
security professionals willing to provide coaching and support for one
or more developing early to mid-career professional(s) and/or students, in
one-to-one or small group formats. Protégés are members of the Next
Generation Global Health Security Network who have expressed an interest in
establishing a mentoring relationship with experienced health security
professionals. Mentor involvement can vary: some mentors may
serve in an advisory role, while others may choose to pursue a collaboration
with their protégé(s). At heart, the most important thing is the ability
and willingness to help.
Responsibilities of Mentors
Responsibilities of the mentor
include:
·
Agreeing to attend the
NGGHS Mentorship Program Discussion Forum
·
Agreeing to contact your
protégé(s) on a regular basis (at least monthly)
·
Agreeing to collaborate
with your protégé(s) on a final project.
·
Agreeing to complete an
evaluation form regarding participation in the NGGHS Mentorship Program to
inform the improvement of the Program.
To become a mentor, complete the interest
form here. If the
link does not work, please copy and paste the following URL into your browser: https://goo.gl/forms/yOmNUXaGGI6lZIlH3
Interest
forms for this mentoring cycle will be available until 20 February.
Mentors will be notified of their matching protege by 5 March.
Please share
this announcement with your network.
For more information, please contact
NextGen Coordinator, Dr. Jamechia Hoyle at nextgenghsa@gmail.com.
--
Jamechia D. Hoyle, DHSc, MPH, MS
Coordinator
Next Generation Global Health Security Network
Friday, February 2, 2018
Change resistance, It is inevitable. How the Blockchain Can Help Venezuela’s Future Recovery
How the Blockchain Can Help
Venezuela’s Future Recovery
Promoting
Sound Policy Foundations for Venezuela’s Postcrisis Recovery and Reform
Moises Rendon
Associate
Director and Associate Fellow, Americas Program
Friday, February
2, 2018
Abstract
Nicolas Maduro’s misguided attempt to create a government-controlled
and natural resource-backed cryptocurrency (“Petro”) is nothing more than a
desperate effort to try to facilitate international finance while avoiding
U.S. sanctions on new debt issuance. However, there remains the potential for
blockchain platforms to empower Venezuelans through legitimate means during the
country’s future recovery. These benefits can extend to future government
institutions, the private sector, and nonprofit organizations. Blockchain
technology can radically shape the rebuilding of Venezuela during a “Day After” scenario for the better.
Background
The situation in Venezuela today
represents one of the most serious political, economic, social, and
humanitarian crises the Western hemisphere has ever endured. Once a
sophisticated country during the mid-twentieth century, Venezuela has now
collapsed under the narcostate regime of President Nicolas Maduro—a collapse
characterized by hyperinflation, widespread scarcity of food and medicine,
and high-speed disintegration of institutions. Today, Venezuela ranks last in
most global rankings for economic, security, and social well-being
indicators. And the continuous increase of civilian deaths and misery depict
a country with a level of destruction resembling those in war.
While the country’s future remains
unclear, the next Venezuelan administration, whenever it arrives, will
require sustained and coordinated international support to relieve the
suffering of its people and lead Venezuela in the right direction. Extensive
and immediate political, economic, and institutional reforms, backed by
significant international humanitarian aid and technical and financial
assistance, will be essential for the stabilization and recovery of Venezuela.
Since the magnitude of the challenges remaining ahead are so complex, costly,
and socially sensitive, innovative solutions will be needed to maximize
Venezuela’s best chances to recover in the near term, and progress in the
long term. Venezuela is prime for a solution that is “out-of-the-box.”
The positive global impact that
technology and innovation have on human life today was unthinkable just a few
decades ago. The Internet has revolutionized the computer and communications
world, accelerating the pace and reach of globalization today. Communities
can develop quicker due to the Internet’s ability to provide global access,
among other benefits. We are only about two decades in on the continuing
development of the Internet and its applications—and it has already fueled
the creation of new technologies, such as blockchain. Although still “in
diapers,” blockchain platforms are already showing significant promise of
improving the way in which people cooperate, transact, and trust one
another—capable of tackling challenges around the world.
Given its decentralized nature,
blockchain-based policy programs would help enhance individual rights,
rebuild more transparent institutions, and prompt the recovery of the private
sector in Venezuela. Although technology may not have the capacity to relieve
Venezuela of its current authoritarian dilemma, new technologies that are
becoming increasingly available and effective can help to positively shape
the rebuilding of Venezuela during a “Day After.”
The blockchain is a digital,
decentralized, and distributed ledger that can be public, private, or both.
Similar to an accounting book, distributed ledgers record a list of
transactions and verify individual ownership—through a peer-to-peer network
consensus mechanism, where each computer participates in adding to a shared
history. This “shared history” is independently maintained on each computer
in the network. Once consensus is reached within the network, through a consensus protocol that guarantees the
integrity and consistency of the process, transactions cannot be altered by
third parties like banks, governments, malicious actors, or even members of
the blockchain network. Blockchain technology is already being used and
explored by different industries worldwide, most notably in financial services
and banking industries. Among the main benefits, the blockchain can enable participants across
the world to lower transaction costs and streamline processes, while
providing enhanced security and trust.
Public blockchains are decentralized
and distributed, meaning they are not controlled by anyone except for the two
people involved in the transaction. Instead, mathematics and cryptography run
the blockchain, and users of the network participate and contribute. The
blockchain is an open network that anyone can access and use in a
permission-less manner (i.e., there is no central authority, approving who
can participate). Lacking a central authority makes the blockchain unique
because transactions are made securely, error-free, without the need (or
expense) for intermediaries.
The first implementation of blockchain
technology was bitcoin, which is why much of the focus is on financial
blockchain applications and other “cryptocurrencies.” Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer digital currency,
or cryptocurrency, used for the speedy and secure transfer of value anywhere
in the world. Created in 2009 by an unknown
software developer or group using the alias Satoshi Nakamoto, bitcoin is the world’s
first open payment network in which anyone with an internet connection can
participate, making it the most accessible finance tool in today’s financial
market. Since bitcoin launched, cryptocurrencies have become increasingly
popular, especially in the last two to three years. There are over 2,000 digital currencies today; most of them
run on a blockchain, and provide different features and experimentation with
monetary policies. Contrary to traditional currencies (or fiat money) whose
issuance is determined by central bankers, cryptocurrencies’ monetary policy
is predetermined, set in the code, and then carried out by users, who cannot
change the rules of the game but receive benefits from participating in the
network.
The rise of cryptocurrencies is not
the only story—blockchain applications are also quickly expanding beyond traditional notions of
value transfer. Ethereum is perhaps the most important
blockchain, or decentralized platform, that runs “smart contracts” or
computer programs. This platform allows applications to run exactly as
programmed “without any possibility of downtime, censorship, fraud or
third-party interference.” Ethereum is already being heavily researched and
applications are being developed for use in business services, banking and
payments, charity, health, insurance, identity management, and others. The
combination of these features could benefit Venezuela’s future to deal with
complex policy decisions during a recovery phase.
Venezuela’s economic and institutional
meltdowns pose an increasingly serious and potentially destabilizing risk for neighboring
countries, and the rest of the hemisphere. This situation has led the United
States, the Lima Group, the European Union, and multilateral organizations to
make the restoration of stability and democracy in Venezuela a top foreign
policy priority. However, the reconstruction challenges will quickly come to
light when Venezuela recovers its democracy.
This report highlights an innovative
framework of how the blockchain technology can be used to help rebuild
Venezuela when the time comes. These benefits include providing humanitarian
aid more efficiently, enhancing property rights (a key driver for the Venezuelan
people to prosper), increasing transparency, tackling corruption, and
combating vote rigging. Countries with weak institutions, rampant corruption,
and hyperinflation, like Venezuela, could see benefits if blockchain is
implemented at both private and public levels. Supported by
private-sector-friendly policies, strong political leadership, and
transparent and functioning institutions, blockchain could shape Venezuela’s
future for the better.
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Friday, January 26, 2018
“Lost Persons Behavior” training 24 February Anne Arundel County, Maryland
Subject: Training - Lost Persons
Behavior
AAACERT
is hosting “Lost Persons Behavior” training program on 24 February at the Anne
Arundel County Fire Training Academy from 0800 – 1700.
Lost person behavior is the cornerstone of search and rescue
efforts. During this one-day class, participants will learn about
behavioral profiles that give insight into what drives the basic
behaviors of lost people, how to pinpoint the most likely areas to search, and how to create reflex tasking to deploy teams into the field as quickly as possible. Participants will put their knowledge to practice with numerous map problems.
Participants will be provided with the Lost Person Behavior book
that can be used as a field reference. The LPB book is the definitive
guide to solving the puzzle of where a lost person might be found.
Included in the book are 41 subject categories with statistics from over 50,000
international SAR incidents, behavioral profiles, suggested initial tasks,
special investigative questions, survivability, track offset, dispersion
angles, and classic statistics such as distance from the initial planning
point. Quite simply, the purpose of the book is to help
searchers look in the right place to find lost subjects faster.
Also included are topographical maps for completing map problems
in class. Participants should bring a pen, highlighter, and ruler.
A certificate will be presented upon successful completion of the course.
The cost is $50 per student and includes textbook.
This course will be taught by Ms. Lisa Kakavas of UMBC and part of
a Search and Rescue Team.
This class is appropriate for CERT, SAR, FD/EMS, Law Enforcement
and others involved or interested in lost persons.
PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO TEAM
MEMBERS AND OTHERS WHO MAY BE INTERESTED.