Loss-Tolerant Tests Of Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen-Steering

We analyse two classes of Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR)-steering inequalities, the violation of which can be used to demonstrate EPR-steering with an entangled two-qubit Werner state: linear inequalities and quadratic inequalities. We discuss how post-selection of results (by appeal to the fair sampling assumption) can compromise the rigour of these inequalities in experimental tests of EPR-steering. By considering the worst-case scenarios in which detector inefficiency or other loss could be exploited within a local hidden-state model, we derive inequalities that enable rigorous but loss-tolerant demonstrations of EPR-steering. The linear inequalities, and special cases of the quadratic inequalities, have been used in recent experiments. Our results indicate that regardless of the number of settings used, quadratic inequalities are never better, and often worse, than linear inequalities.Comment: 18 pages, 15 figure

Globalization and comparative education research: misconceptions and applications of neo-institutional theory

As globalization studies have become central to comparative education research, neo-institutional theory has become the focus of many debates among comparative education researchers investigating the effects of globalization on education. Yet, in spite of this focus, many comparative education researchers have difficulty interpreting neo-institutional theory and how it frames comparative education research. In particular, misconceptions persist related to which strand of neo-institutional theory is the most relevant to comparative education research, and whether or not neo-institutional theory advocates for the homogenization of education and society worldwide. This article addresses these misconceptions by explaining the theory in relation to comparative education research using a specific empirical case as an example. The documented theoretical and methodological diversity within the field of comparative education supports the assertion that neo-institutional theory provides a productive framework for understanding and interpreting comparative education phenomena, but that complementary approaches and methods are useful as well.La teoría neo-institucionalista se ha ubicado en el centro de los debates académicos debido al avance y proliferación de los estudios en educación comparada que sitúan los análisis en el en el marco del proceso de globalización. Sin embargo, a pesar de su relevancia para la educación comparada, la teoría neo-institucionalista sigue generando incertidumbre en cuanto a su empleo e interpretación en la investigación educativa comparada. Parte de esta incertidumbre proviene de la malinterpretación de sus principios, variantes y de su capacidad explicativa. Además, aún persisten varios malentendidos sobre el neo-institucionalismo como por ejemplo, la creencia que sostiene que la versión conocida como la “cultura global” es la única variante del neo-institucionalismo relevante a la investigación educativa comparada. Otra suposición errónea es la que considera que la homogeneización cultural global es uno de los objetivos avanzados por los investigadores que aplican el marco teórico neo-institucional para explicar los fenómenos educativos comparados. Este artículo tiene como propósito abordar esos malentendidos a través de un caso de estudio que utilizaremos como ejemplo. El mismo nos permitirá no sólo clarificar los errores sobre la teoría neo-institucionalista sino también demostrar una de las tantas aplicaciones posibles a la investigación comparada en educación. Los resultados nos permiten sostener que las distintas variantes del marco teórico neo-institucionalista son útiles como acercamiento a la problemática de la educación comparada. De la misma forma también dan cuenta de la necesidad de utilizar métodos y formas de aproximación al conocimiento en forma complementaria. La probada riqueza y diversidad teórica y metodológica del neo-institucionalismo en el campo de la educación comparada asevera fehacientemente que el neo-institucionalismo nos provee de un marco teórico productivo para el entendimiento e interpretación de los fenómenos educativos comparado

Predicting smartphone operating system from personality and individual differences

Android and iPhone devices account for over 90% of all smartphones sold world-wide. Despite being very similar in functionality, current discourse and marketing campaigns suggest that key individual differences exist between users of these two devices; however, this has never been investigated empirically. This is surprising, as smartphones continue to gain momentum across a variety of research disciplines. In this paper we consider if individual differences exist between these two distinct groups. In comparison to Android users, we found that iPhone owners are more likely to be female, younger, and increasingly concerned about their smartphone being viewed as a status object. Key differences in personality were also observed with iPhone users displaying lower levels of honesty-humility and higher levels of emotionality. Following this analysis, we were also able to build and test a model that predicted smartphone ownership at above chance level based on these individual differences. In line with extended self theory, the type of smartphone owned provides some valuable information about its owner. These findings have implications for the increasing use of smartphones within research particularly for those working within Computational Social Science and PsychoInformatics, where data is typically collected from devices and applications running a single smartphone operating system

Optomechanical Cooling of a Macroscopic Oscillator by Homodyne Feedback

We propose a simple optomechanical model in which a mechanical oscillator quadrature could be "cooled" well below its equilibrium temperature by applying a suitable feedback to drive the orthogonal quadrature by means of the homodyne current of the radiation field used to probe its position.Comment: 9 pages, RevTeX, Figures available from authors, to appear in Phys. Rev. Let

Optomechanical scheme for the detection of weak impulsive forces

We show that a cooling scheme and an appropriate quantum nonstationary strategy can be used to improve the signal to noise ratio for the optomechanical detection of weak impulsive forces.Comment: 4 pages, Revtex, 1 figur

Macroscopic mechanical oscillators at the quantum limit using optomechanical cooling

We discuss how the optomechanical coupling provided by radiation pressure can be used to cool macroscopic collective degrees of freedom, as vibrational modes of movable mirrors. Cooling is achieved using a phase-sensitive feedback-loop which effectively overdamps the mirrors motion without increasing the thermal noise. Feedback results able to bring macroscopic objects down to the quantum limit. In particular, it is possible to achieve squeezing and entanglement.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures, RevTe