Implementing the Deutsch-Jozsa algorithm with macroscopic ensembles

Quantum computing implementations under consideration today typically deal with systems with microscopic degrees of freedom such as photons, ions, cold atoms, and superconducting circuits. The quantum information is stored typically in low-dimensional Hilbert spaces such as qubits, as quantum effects are strongest in such systems. It has however been demonstrated that quantum effects can be observed in mesoscopic and macroscopic systems, such as anomechanical systems and gas ensembles. While few-qubit quantum information demonstrations have been performed with such macroscopic systems, a quantum algorithm showing exponential speedup over classical algorithms is yet to be shown. Here we show that the Deutsch-Jozsa algorithm can be implemented with macroscopic ensembles. The encoding that we use avoids the detrimental effects of decoherence that normally plagues macroscopic implementations. We discuss two mapping procedures which can be chosen depending upon the constraints of the oracle and the experiment. Both methods have an exponential speedup over the classical case, and only require control of the ensembles at the level of the total spin of the ensembles. It is shown that both approaches reproduce the qubit Deutsch-Jozsa algorithm, and are robust under decoherence

Access for all: Using mobile and open education to secure success in underserved settings

The TESS-India project (Teacher Education through School Support in India), led by the Open University UK, funded by UK Aid and in partnership with the Indian Government, addresses the urgent need to improve the quantity and quality of teacher education in India. Movement in teachers’ classroom practice towards a more learner centred participatory pedagogy is recognised as being critical to improving students’ learning in schools across the country. In realising this aim over 1000 open educational resources (OER), accompanied by 55 supporting videos, have been collaboratively produced and localised across seven states and in six languages. A blended approach has been taken to the dissemination of the TESS-India OER throughout teacher education institutions and communities. With the Indian mobile market ranking as the second largest in the world, providing easy access through personally-owned mobile devices has been critical. In addition to the web and fixed media, TESS-India has worked closely with State governments to develop a mobile specific application that runs both on and offline through the internet and via low powered wifi enabled devices (Raspberry Pi). This has provided multiple access points in educationally underserved rural communities and areas with limited or no connectivity. Beyond access to the materials, a variety of strategies have been engaged to support the integration of the OER and the participatory pedagogy they exemplify into teacher education practices. This includes a collaborative, multi-lingual production process, facilitated MOOC and locally developed WhatsApp communities driving uptake and adoption. This presentation will discuss: • the practical applications of developing and using a mobile based delivery system; • the extended benefits of developing access routes specific for mobile based users in both on and offline scenarios; • the characteristics of TESS-India OER and the collaborative design and production process; • the top-down and bottom-up approaches to OER dissemination and integration into education practic

Path deviations outperform approximate stability in heterogeneous congestion games

We consider non-atomic network congestion games with heterogeneous players where the latencies of the paths are subject to some bounded deviations. This model encompasses several well-studied extensions of the classical Wardrop model which incorporate, for example, risk-aversion, altruism or travel time delays. Our main goal is to analyze the worst-case deterioration in social cost of a perturbed Nash flow (i.e., for the perturbed latencies) with respect to an original Nash flow. We show that for homogeneous players perturbed Nash flows coincide with approximate Nash flows and derive tight bounds on their inefficiency. In contrast, we show that for heterogeneous populations this equivalence does not hold. We derive tight bounds on the inefficiency of both perturbed and approximate Nash flows for arbitrary player sensitivity distributions. Intuitively, our results suggest that the negative impact of path deviations (e.g., caused by risk-averse behavior or latency perturbations) is less severe than approximate stability (e.g., caused by limited responsiveness or bounded rationality). We also obtain a tight bound on the inefficiency of perturbed Nash flows for matroid congestion games and homogeneous populations if the path deviations can be decomposed into edge deviations. In particular, this provides a tight bound on the Price of Risk-Aversion for matroid congestion games

The Efficacy of School-Based Pre-K Program Sites in a Metro-Atlanta School District

In this report, Henry T. Woodyard, Tim R. Sass, and Ishtiaque Fazlul estimated the effects of attending an oversubscribed school-based Georgia’s Pre-K Program on achievement, attendance, and discipline in elementary school. Using waitlist data for oversubscribed school-based pre-K sites in one metro-Atlanta school district, we compared students who gained a seat through an enrollment lottery and attended a school-based site in Georgia’s Pre-K Program to students who did not gain a seat through a lottery and did not go to any (school-based or non-school-based) site in Georgia’s Pre-K Program.We find that students selected in a lottery enter kindergarten significantly more prepared academically, scoring around six national percentiles higher than their non-selected peers on nationally-normed formative assessments. However, these gains fade by the end of kindergarten, and some negative effects on achievement emerge by Grade 4. Measured benefits are larger when we only consider students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals (FRPM), suggesting that attending pre-K may be more beneficial for students from families experiencing low income. While selected students were no less likely than non-selected students to commit a disciplinary infraction in any grade, they did miss about one fewer day of instruction in each grade after kindergarten. The broad patterns we find are consistent with previous studies of the efficacy of universal pre-K programs elsewhere.The limitations of our analysis make us cautious in providing policy recommendations. However, given that one distinguishing characteristic of school-based pre-K sites is that they offer transportation, offering students with limited transportation options priority at sites which offer transportation could be impactful. Similarly, providing additional funding could help non-school-based sites overcome the cost of providing transportation. Finally, informing parents of non-selected students of next steps and other options within Georgia’s Pre-K Program may reduce the chance that their child does not attend any formal pre-K.https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/gpl_reports/1021/thumbnail.jp

Travel, Meal, & Entertainment Expense Deductions in U.S. Tax Court Cases

Henry T. Petersen, is a C.P.A. with Strickland and Jones, P.C., Norfolk, Virginia 23510-1517. Tim C. McKee, M.B.A., J.D., LL.M., C.P.A., is the University Professor of Accounting, Department of Accounting, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia 23529-0229

Motorsport Valley revisited:Cluster evolution, strategic cluster coupling and resilience

Over 20 years ago a series of papers identified a strikingly dominant economic cluster – the UK’s Motorsport Valley (MSV) – which led to MSV becoming an international exemplar of concepts such as agglomeration, clusters and knowledge-driven systems of regional development. Utilising an evolutionary perspective on cluster development, this paper asks ‘whatever happened to MSV?’. Drawing on the framework of strategic cluster coupling, four cluster development episodes are conceptualised that each depict the dynamic evolution of the cluster’s multi-scalar institutional environment, strategic coupling trajectories and economic development outcomes. Reflecting the emerging synthesis between evolutionary economic geography and geographical political economy, the paper describes an extended case study of cluster development, an evolutionary process of strategic cluster coupling and, ultimately, an example of cluster resilience. Through a focus on strategic cluster coupling, the paper provides further understanding of cluster evolution and path development mechanisms at key moments of cluster reconfiguration – and an empirical update and continuation of the economic story and cluster lifecycle of MSV

Measuring the complexity of Dutch legislation

For legislation to be effective, it should not be too complex; otherwise, it cannot be sufficiently understood by those who have to apply the law or comply with it. This paper adds to the research in AI & law on developing precise mathematical complexity measures for legislation and applying these measures by computational means. The framework of Katz & Bommarito (2014) is applied to measure the complexity of Dutch legislation. The aim is twofold: first, to investigate whether this framework is meaningfully more widely applicable by applying it to a different jurisdiction and a corpus of larger size; and second, to identify possible improvements to the framework

The Impact of Virtual Summer School on Student Achievement Growth During COVID-19

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, school districts in metro Atlanta closed physical schools and quickly shifted to remote instruction in mid-March 2020 for the remainder of the school year. Many efforts have been used to mitigate the effects of pandemic-induced school closures, including virtual summer school. Prior to the pandemic, studies indicate that participation in summer programs tends to reduce learning loss in mathematics; however, in reading, the impact is mixed. Interventions have ranged from summer enrichment programs to online programs targeting students across all grade levels. In this report from Alexa Prettyman and Tim Sass, we seek to determine whether elementary and middle school students benefited from a virtual summer school program in a metro-Atlanta school district during the COVID-19 pandemic. We used spring assignment completion records, summer school files, and administrative records from the spring of school year 2019-20 to the fall of school year 2020-21 to compare achievement growth between summer school participants and non-participants. Overall, virtual summer school participation was low. Only about 1 in 4 students who were supposed to participate actually did. We find that participants performed better in math, on average, than non-participants, but there was no difference in reading. Most of the gains are concentrated among elementary school students and not middle school students. In addition, students who were more engaged during the spring semester seemed to benefit more from summer school. Districts may want to mandate or incentivize participation in future programs offered in the summer or during breaks in the academic calendar. Lastly, use of clear and objective assignment rules and better documentation of who is expected to attend summer school will provide for causal analysis in the futur

Virtual Learning Trends During the COVID-19 Pandemic

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, school districts across the United States were forced to close their physical schools and rapidly switch to virtual learning. In this study, Jennifer Darling-Aduana, Tim Sass, and Henry Woodyard examine patterns in student engagement and achievement associated with the enactment of crisis-driven virtual schooling in a metro-Atlanta school district during the fall 2020 semester. To accomplish this, they used data from student records, standardized assessments, and course progress information gathered by the digital learning systems used throughout the district. Overall, students logged substantially fewer hours a week in virtual learning applications than expected based on schedules for traditional face-to-face instruction prior to the pandemic. Despite generally deflated weekly achievement growth compared to expected pre-pandemic trends, students who logged more hours virtually experienced higher rates of student achievement growth throughout the semester—with time logged in programs with student-directed, interactive assignments associated with the largest gains in growth. They also identified variability in usage patterns by subgroup with students identified as female logging significantly more time across many applications than students identified as male. Students identified as Black also logged more time in synchronous meetings than students identified as White. Consequently, the pandemic “learning gap” might be more accurately portrayed as an “opportunity gap” due to less access to educational experiences. Through this research, they aim to provide a benchmark and insights into how to best provide students equitable access to quality virtual engagement opportunities. Moreover, ensuring students have equitable access to the resources needed to learn in this way is an important policy consideration