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Podcasts!

I have recently been a guest on two podcasts: 

Intrepid Podcast Episode 79, where I discuss the future of terrorism studies: https://www.intrepidpodcast.com/podcast/2019/3/8/ep-79-views-from-the-shwa-far-right-extremism-and-the-future-of-terrorism-studies 

And on Episode 27 of the Canada and the World Podcast, talking about, well, everything (it was a snow day.): https://www.opencanada.org/features/canada-and-world-ep-27-state-union-oscars-and-everything-else/

 

 

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LIFEHACK

In communications with Unicef Mongolia and Dr. Plinio Morita of the Ubiquitous Computing Lab at the University of Waterloo, my colleague Marcela Costa and I advised the development of LIFEHACK, an educational simulation game made by youth in Ulaanbataar around sexual health, drug use, and other topics. The result was an example of global collaboration using local knowledge of the startups and the software development life cycle (SDLC) in Kitchener-Waterloo, and local knowledge of youth experiences in Ulaanbataar to co-create health products. The project was presented at a ...

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What I Learned About Pedagogy from Magic School

In August 2018 I had the immense pleasure of attending my first live action role-playing game at Bothwell School of Witchcraft. Everyone was given a character to play, and the action unfolded over 3 days based on the group’s collective improvisation skills as well as the groundwork laid by the organizers. I thought I was merely vacationing while indulging in my fascination with a certain fictional British magical boarding school, but it turns out even in a real castle in East Sussex there is pedagogical inspiration to be...

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Getting Students to "Think Like Actuaries"

I attended the 2017 Actuarial Research Conference (ARC) and was fascinated by a talk that argued insurance companies should consider firearm ownership as a rating factor. Firearm presence has a stronger impact on claims than many other factors that are used. The reason for its absence is not efficacy but politics: there is opposition from groups that have a vested interest in more firearms being sold. I was intrigued and wanted to weave this kind of topic into my teaching.

Around the same time, I was finishing up the Fundamentals of Actuarial Practice modules, which examine...

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