Fluctuation Theorems for Entropy Production and Heat Dissipation in Periodically Driven Markov Chains

Asymptotic fluctuation theorems are statements of a Gallavotti-Cohen symmetry in the rate function of either the time-averaged entropy production or heat dissipation of a process. Such theorems have been proved for various general classes of continuous-time deterministic and stochastic processes, but always under the assumption that the forces driving the system are time independent, and often relying on the existence of a limiting ergodic distribution. In this paper we extend the asymptotic fluctuation theorem for the first time to inhomogeneous continuous-time processes without a stationary distribution, considering specifically a finite state Markov chain driven by periodic transition rates. We find that for both entropy production and heat dissipation, the usual Gallavotti-Cohen symmetry of the rate function is generalized to an analogous relation between the rate functions of the original process and its corresponding backward process, in which the trajectory and the driving protocol have been time-reversed. The effect is that spontaneous positive fluctuations in the long time average of each quantity in the forward process are exponentially more likely than spontaneous negative fluctuations in the backward process, and vice-versa, revealing that the distributions of fluctuations in universes in which time moves forward and backward are related. As an additional result, the asymptotic time-averaged entropy production is obtained as the integral of a periodic entropy production rate that generalizes the constant rate pertaining to homogeneous dynamics

Chinese students at an Australian university: Adaptability and continuity

This chapter concentrates on Chinese learners studying in Australian universities. It is argued that adoption of a deficit model to describe Chinese students' learning in the Australian literature has contributed to creating a distorted view of these students' learning. Three salient aspects of the stereotyped view of Southeast Asian students are examined for evidence of accuracy, adaptability and continuity in the Australian context, rote vs deep learning, achievement orientation and participation in tutorial discussions. A number of studies, conducted with Singaporean students predominantly of Chinese origin, revealed that Chinese learners at university in Australia demonstrate a strategic adaptability in their attempts to meet the new educational requirements, and an advantageous and wise continuity in maintaining a high academic orientation

Children's collaboration and conflict in Dyadic problem solving

This chapter aims to clarify the concept of collaboration, to describe the types of social interactions that are constituents of collaboration and examines the type of conflict resolution used in collaborative activities. Collaboration may be seen as the absence of conflict or disagreement, but this is an extremely restrictive definition. The alternative is not to dichotomise collaboration and conflict, but to examine the types of disagreements that arise in collaborative problem solving and the ways such disagreements are resolved. The distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers. The actions of the children immediately after they began the task were crucial in establishing their level of collaboration. The notion of collaboration has connotations of guidance and suggests that one of the pair has the capability, and could have produced the outcome alone

Process versus product task interpretation and parental teaching practice

Research on parental teaching strategies indicates that task interpretation mediates the amount and type of assistance provided by parents for their children. Leont'ev's (1981) three-tiered analytical framework has been employed to examine the relationship between task interpretation and teaching strategies, but task interpretation has been inferred rather than probed directly. Twenty-three preschoolers and their parents (10 mothers and 13 fathers) participated in the present study, the purpose of which was to assess directly parents' task interpretation of a teaching context, and to establish the pattern of relationships between task interpretation and teaching strategies. Task interpretation was coded using the process (learning goals) vs. product (performance goals) distinction suggested in the achievement motivation literature, and teaching strategies were coded in response to children's errors as either direct or indirect. The hypothesis, that process-oriented parents employ indirect error correction strategies and product-oriented parents employ direct error correction strategies, was confirmed. These findings suggest that parents may approach teaching tasks with quite different interpretations, and these interpretations are revealed by, and are consistent with, the teaching strategies they employ

South-east Asian students at Australian universities: A reappraisal of their tutorial participation and approaches to study

This study is a beginning—it begins to question the established literature, and hopefully to provoke university staff into reassessing their perceptions of Southeast Asian students and their assumptions that all students from South-east Asia fit a particular mould. On the other hand we acknowledge that adjustments need to be made by South-east Asian students studying at Australian universities, and depending on their English language proficiency and background these adjustments may be substantial and challenging. However, many of the adjustments South-east Asian students face in Australia will be similar in kind to those that confront all students moving from the more structured environment of the school to a university setting where greater self-reliance and self-management of study is required. Some of the adjustments will be unique to the particular circumstances of each individual student. Some of the adjustments will be related to reconciling the competing demands of university study, securing financial resources, maintaining personal relationships, and setting aside time for recreation. Within these overlapping sets of adjustments will be socially and culturally constituted strategies and resources that students will draw on as they move forward through their programs of study. We need to learn to recognise the resourcefulness of students in this process rather than presume that their differences are a deficiency. The term ‘South-east Asian’ has been used in the title of the paper because we seek to address the current usage of the term in the literature, and challenge existing stereotypes of students from South-east Asia. By using the term ‘South-east Asian’, however, we contribute in some measure to the existing problem by implying that the diverse cultures and traditions of South-east Asia can be meaningfully grouped together. On balance we decided that it was better to engage the current literature by employing the term South-east Asian even though it obscures the cultural, ethnic and religious diversity of students from the region. One reviewer of the paper suggested that we restrict our paper and title to Singapore students, since they comprise the overwhelming proportion of overseas students in the sample. To account for this concern, we have emphasised the characteristics of the sample in the introduction, and considered in the discussion and conclusion to the paper the ‘special case argument’ that is made regarding students from Singapore

Cross-cultural differences in university students' goals and perceptions of study settings for achieving their own goals

International education and university study exchange programs are now widely established around the world. Yet little is known about possible cultural differences in international and local students' goals and perceptions, and about how international students adapt to the specific academic requirements of the host country. The mediating role of student's goals and perceptions, as well as the dynamic and adaptive nature of those cognitions have been emphasised in theories of self-regulation of learning and empirical research on student learning. The present study examined the extent to which international students' ways of thinking about learning, learning goals and perceptions of the usefulness of typical university study contexts differ from local students at the beginning of their study in the host university, and then become similar to that of local students after a period of time. Comparisons of matched groups of international students (from South-east Asia) and local (Australian) students revealed evidence of cultural/educational differences between their conceptualisation of goals at the beginning of their university study but this difference disappeared after one semester. At the start of their university study, South-east Asian students displayed higher levels of goals than local students, but neither group was certain yet which study settings would be most useful for achieving their personal goals. After one semester, South-east Asian students had become more like local students but the two groups' overall patterns of change over time were similar, providing further support for the view that the specific characteristics of study environments have a strong impact on students' learning. South-east Asian students' clear differentiation of the usefulness of typical study settings for the achievement of high vs low level goals however, contrasted with local students' undifferentiated view that individual study is the most useful form of learning

Loneliness in middle childhood: Concurrent and longitudinal predictors

The role of behavioral, sociometric, and attributional indices of social functioning in the development of peer-related loneliness was investigated in a short-term longitudinal study. Data were collected across a 1-year time span on 3 occasions from 128 third- through sixth-graders. Results were consistent with an additive model of loneliness. Withdrawn social behavior, lower peer acceptance, few or no friendships, and an internal-stable attributional style predicted higher levels of concurrent and future loneliness. Children who declined in peer acceptance, lost friends, and gained in internal-stable attributions showed gains in loneliness. Subgroup analyses indicated that children with no friends reported more loneliness than children with 1 or more friends; low-status friendless children reported more loneliness than low-status children with one or more friends; and low-status friendless children reported more loneliness than average- and high-status friendless children. Taken together, the findings suggest that loneliness in middle childhood is a stable phenomenon located in a complex web of interrelated aspects of social functioning

A short-term longitudinal investigation of cross-cultural differences in study approaches using Biggs' SPQ questionnaire

Cross-cultural research on university students' approaches to study has examined the possible cultural specificity of Biggs' Study Process Questionnaire, but the problem of the confounding effect of individual characteristics and contextual variables has received little empirical attention. The present study addressed this issue, by investigating cross-cultural differences in students' approaches to study when the academic course and context are the same for culturally distinct groups. Two matched groups of local Australian and South-east Asian students were compared at the beginning and the end of their first semester at university. The similarities in the patterns of change of the two groups support the view that study approaches are influenced by students' perceptions of course requirements rather than determined by stable personal characteristics of individuals or cultural differences. Although South-east Asian students scored higher on the surface measures than their western counterparts, finer analyses breaking down the surface construct into meaningful sub-components revealed no difference between the two groups in the ‘narrowness’ aspect of their study. South-east Asian students were adaptive to the demands of the new educational context and became more similar to local students by the end of their first semester of academic study in a western institution