A reflection on the first run of the Runestone Project at Tongji University: observations on cross cultural distributed teams vs face to face teams

China has long been an education import nation, so non-commercial and mutually beneficial collaborations between Chinese and Western universities are rare. Nevertheless, the School of Software Engineering at Tongji University in China has developed mutually beneficial collaboration with several Western universities; among them the most important partner is Uppsala University. In spite of the great challenges encountered by both sides during developing and conducting the collaboration due to their sharply contrasting cultural backgrounds and different educational and political systems, the collaboration between the institutions has been deepening and widening steadily and continuously. Following successful student and teacher exchange programs, the Runestone project was launched between Uppsala and Tongji Universities in 2009. It was taken as a triumph that the Sino-Swedish globally distributed Runestone teams fulfilled the course requirements. However, it was also noticed that some advantages of cross cultural collaboration in learning which were observed in the face to face teams were not realized in the Sino-Swedish Runestone teams. The students in the cross cultural face to face teams displayed evident complementarities in their work. This positive effect of the different cultural backgrounds seemingly disappeared when the students moved from the face to face teams to the globally distributed teams. This report records observations on students’ work in the two types of cross cultural teams. In addition, on the basis of these reflections on the experience, some practical measures and areas for research are suggested in the hope of helping improve such global collaborations in future

Entangled-State Cycles of Atomic Collective-Spin States

We study quantum trajectories of collective atomic spin states of $N$ effective two-level atoms driven with laser and cavity fields. We show that interesting ``entangled-state cycles'' arise probabilistically when the (Raman) transition rates between the two atomic levels are set equal. For odd (even) $N$, there are $(N+1)/2$ ($N/2$) possible cycles. During each cycle the $N$-qubit state switches, with each cavity photon emission, between the states $(|N/2,m>\pm |N/2,-m>)/\sqrt{2}$, where $|N/2,m>$ is a Dicke state in a rotated collective basis. The quantum number $m$ ($>0$), which distinguishes the particular cycle, is determined by the photon counting record and varies randomly from one trajectory to the next. For even $N$ it is also possible, under the same conditions, to prepare probabilistically (but in steady state) the Dicke state $|N/2,0>$, i.e., an $N$-qubit state with $N/2$ excitations, which is of particular interest in the context of multipartite entanglement.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figure

Identification and validation of clinical predictors for the risk of neurological involvement in children with hand, foot, and mouth disease in Sarawak

Background: Human enterovirus 71 (HEV71) can cause Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) with neurological complications, which may rapidly progress to fulminant cardiorespiratory failure, and death. Early recognition of children at risk is the key to reduce acute mortality and morbidity. Methods: We examined data collected through a prospective clinical study of HFMD conducted between 2000 and 2006 that included 3 distinct outbreaks of HEV71 to identify risk factors associated with neurological involvement in children with HFMD. Results: Total duration of fever ≥ 3 days, peak temperature ≥ 38.5°C and history of lethargy were identified as independent risk factors for neurological involvement (evident by CSF pleocytosis) in the analysis of 725 children admitted during the first phase of the study. When they were validated in the second phase of the study, two or more (≥ 2) risk factors were present in 162 (65%) of 250 children with CSF pleocytosis compared with 56 (30%) of 186 children with no CSF pleocytosis (OR 4.27, 95% CI2.79–6.56, p < 0.0001). The usefulness of the three risk factors in identifying children with CSF pleocytosis on hospital admission during the second phase of the study was also tested. Peak temperature ≥ 38.5°C and history of lethargy had the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of 28%(48/174), 89%(125/140), 76%(48/63) and 50%(125/251), respectively in predicting CSF pleocytosis in children that were seen within the first 2 days of febrile illness. For those presented on the 3rd or later day of febrile illness, the sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV of ≥ 2 risk factors predictive of CSF pleocytosis were 75%(57/ 76), 59%(27/46), 75%(57/76) and 59%(27/46), respectively. Conclusion: Three readily elicited clinical risk factors were identified to help detect children at risk of neurological involvement. These risk factors may serve as a guide to clinicians to decide the need for hospitalization and further investigation, including cerebrospinal fluid examination, and close monitoring for disease progression in children with HFMD

Integrating International Students Into Computer Science Programs: Challenges and Strategies for Success

International students are an important and desirable constituent in most computer science programs. These students help to enrich the programs, bring new perspectives into the classroom, diversify the student population, globalize the curriculum, broaden the perspective of domestic students, and generate revenue for the host institution. Each of these characteristics is desirable and increasingly important in today's highly connected world and job market. Most institutions invest resources in attracting international students and provide orientation sessions for them on arrival to help acclimate them to the new environment and to introduce them to other students. There are often clubs to provide support groups and social functions to help them meet and make friends with domestic students. However, challenges for international students, and for the faculty teaching them, persist at many institutions despite these efforts to help international students deal with culture shock, differing academic expectations and teaching methods, and different attitudes toward issues such as plagiarism

The relationship between education and health among incarcerated men and women in the United States

Abstract Background This paper contributes to research on the education-health association by extending the scope of inquiry to adult inmates. Not only are inmates excluded from most nationally representative studies of health but they also represent a highly select group in terms of both education and health. As such, our study provides new information about the health of incarcerated populations and it extends the generalizability of the education-health association beyond the non-institutionalized population. Methods We use a prison-level fixed-effects regression model with the 2004 Survey of Inmates in State Correctional Facilities (n = 287 facilities) to evaluate the effects of education on a standardized morbidity scale of 11 lifetime and current health conditions among incarcerated men (n = 10,493) and women (n = 2,797). Results Education prior to incarceration is negatively associated with lifetime health problems for both women and men and the association is stronger among women. Among inmates who enter prison with less than a GED level of education, attaining a GED in prison is associated with better current health outcomes for men, but not women. Conclusions The generalization of the education-health association among prisoners further highlights the fundamental nature of education as a health promotive resource. Discussed are the implications for the education-health literature in general and health promotion efforts among incarcerated adults specifically