Local-To-Global Agreement Expansion via the Variance Method

Agreement expansion is concerned with set systems for which local assignments to the sets with almost perfect pairwise consistency (i.e., most overlapping pairs of sets agree on their intersections) implies the existence of a global assignment to the ground set (from which the sets are defined) that agrees with most of the local assignments. It is currently known that if a set system forms a two-sided or a partite high dimensional expander then agreement expansion is implied. However, it was not known whether agreement expansion can be implied for one-sided high dimensional expanders. In this work we show that agreement expansion can be deduced for one-sided high dimensional expanders assuming that all the vertices\u27 links (i.e., the neighborhoods of the vertices) are agreement expanders. Thus, for one-sided high dimensional expander, an agreement expansion of the large complicated complex can be deduced from agreement expansion of its small simple links. Using our result, we settle the open question whether the well studied Ramanujan complexes are agreement expanders. These complexes are neither partite nor two-sided high dimensional expanders. However, they are one-sided high dimensional expanders for which their links are partite and hence are agreement expanders. Thus, our result implies that Ramanujan complexes are agreement expanders, answering affirmatively the aforementioned open question. The local-to-global agreement expansion that we prove is based on the variance method that we develop. We show that for a high dimensional expander, if we define a function on its top faces and consider its local averages over the links then the variance of these local averages is much smaller than the global variance of the original function. This decreasing in the variance enables us to construct one global agreement function that ties together all local agreement functions

High Dimensional Random Walks and Colorful Expansion

Random walks on bounded degree expander graphs have numerous applications, both in theoretical and practical computational problems. A key property of these walks is that they converge rapidly to their stationary distribution. In this work we {\em define high order random walks}: These are generalizations of random walks on graphs to high dimensional simplicial complexes, which are the high dimensional analogues of graphs. A simplicial complex of dimension $d$ has vertices, edges, triangles, pyramids, up to $d$-dimensional cells. For any $0 \leq i < d$, a high order random walk on dimension $i$ moves between neighboring $i$-faces (e.g., edges) of the complex, where two $i$-faces are considered neighbors if they share a common $(i+1)$-face (e.g., a triangle). The case of $i=0$ recovers the well studied random walk on graphs. We provide a {\em local-to-global criterion} on a complex which implies {\em rapid convergence of all high order random walks} on it. Specifically, we prove that if the $1$-dimensional skeletons of all the links of a complex are spectral expanders, then for {\em all} $0 \le i < d$ the high order random walk on dimension $i$ converges rapidly to its stationary distribution. We derive our result through a new notion of high dimensional combinatorial expansion of complexes which we term {\em colorful expansion}. This notion is a natural generalization of combinatorial expansion of graphs and is strongly related to the convergence rate of the high order random walks. We further show an explicit family of {\em bounded degree} complexes which satisfy this criterion. Specifically, we show that Ramanujan complexes meet this criterion, and thus form an explicit family of bounded degree high dimensional simplicial complexes in which all of the high order random walks converge rapidly to their stationary distribution.Comment: 27 page

Ramanujan Complexes and bounded degree topological expanders

Expander graphs have been a focus of attention in computer science in the last four decades. In recent years a high dimensional theory of expanders is emerging. There are several possible generalizations of the theory of expansion to simplicial complexes, among them stand out coboundary expansion and topological expanders. It is known that for every d there are unbounded degree simplicial complexes of dimension d with these properties. However, a major open problem, formulated by Gromov, is whether bounded degree high dimensional expanders, according to these definitions, exist for d >= 2. We present an explicit construction of bounded degree complexes of dimension d = 2 which are high dimensional expanders. More precisely, our main result says that the 2-skeletons of the 3-dimensional Ramanujan complexes are topological expanders. Assuming a conjecture of Serre on the congruence subgroup property, infinitely many of them are also coboundary expanders.Comment: To appear in FOCS 201

The implementation of a one-to-one iPAD program in an urban high school

The purpose of this qualitative study was to apply the lessons learned from the Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow studies, the SAMR model, and Diffusion of Innovations theory to explore stakeholder perceptions of iPad integration at an urban high school in Massachusetts. The implementation was viewed through the lenses of the Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow (ACOT) studies (Baker, Gearhart, & Herman, 1990; Dwyer, Ringstaff, & Haymore Sandholtz, 1990a; Dwyer, Ringstaff, & Haymore Sandholtz, 1990b), Rogers’ (2003) Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) Model, and Puentedura’s (2012) Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition (SAMR) Model. The researcher used qualitative analysis to code the data. Through data analysis, five themes emerged: communication, control, division, distraction, and workflow. The iPads changed how and when students and teachers communicated. Teachers sought more control over the iPads in the classroom. Control over learning shifted toward the students with the introduction of the iPads. Divisions became apparent with iPad use: new teachers versus veteran teachers and upperclassman versus underclassman. Distractions were rampant. The iPads influenced the workflow of how teachers taught and how students accessed the curriculum