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Efficient collective swimming by harnessing vortices through deep reinforcement learning
Fish in schooling formations navigate complex flow fields replete with mechanical energy in the vortex wakes of their companions. Their schooling behavior has been associated with evolutionary advantages including energy savings, yet the underlying physical mechanisms remain unknown. We show that fish can improve their sustained propulsive efficiency by placing themselves in appropriate locations in the wake of other swimmers and intercepting judiciously their shed vortices. This swimming strategy leads to collective energy savings and is revealed through a combination of high-fidelity flow simulations with a deep reinforcement learning (RL) algorithm. The RL algorithm relies on a policy defined by deep, recurrent neural nets, with long–short-term memory cells, that are essential for capturing the unsteadiness of the two-way interactions between the fish and the vortical flow field. Surprisingly, we find that swimming in-line with a leader is not associated with energetic benefits for the follower. Instead, “smart swimmer(s)” place themselves at off-center positions, with respect to the axis of the leader(s) and deform their body to synchronize with the momentum of the oncoming vortices, thus enhancing their swimming efficiency at no cost to the leader(s). The results confirm that fish may harvest energy deposited in vortices and support the conjecture that swimming in formation is energetically advantageous. Moreover, this study demonstrates that deep RL can produce navigation algorithms for complex unsteady and vortical flow fields, with promising implications for energy savings in autonomous robotic swarms.
Journal Article
International perspectives on home education : do we still need schools?
This unique and enriching volume presents 21 chapters written by an eclectic mix of leading names in home-based education research worldwide. It is the first ever snapshot of global thinking in home based education issues with contributions from a diverse academic community from countries including the UK, USA, Australia, Israel, Afghanistan, Norway, Germany, Belgium, Colombia, Spain, India and Canada. The topic of home education is a unique and interesting lens through which to explore issues in contemporary education far beyond the field of homeschooling, and International Perspectives on Home Education uses this lens to explore education outside of school and place it into a global, political and critical context. This collection is accessible to a wide audience, providing a handy volume to have close at hand for home educators, academics and policymakers alike. -- Provided by the publisher
Book
Validation of the StimQ.sub.2: A parent-report measure of cognitive stimulation in the home
Considerable evidence demonstrates the importance of the cognitive home environment in supporting children's language, cognition, and school readiness more broadly. This is particularly important for children from low-income backgrounds, as cognitive stimulation is a key area of resilience that mediates the impact of poverty on child development. Researchers and clinicians have therefore highlighted the need to quantify cognitive stimulation; however existing methodological approaches frequently utilize home visits and/or labor-intensive observations and coding. Here, we examined the reliability and validity of the StimQ.sub.2, a parent-report measure of the cognitive home environment that can be delivered efficiently and at low cost. StimQ.sub.2 improves upon earlier versions of the instrument by removing outdated items, assessing additional domains of cognitive stimulation and providing new scoring systems. Findings suggest that the StimQ.sub.2 is a reliable and valid measure of the cognitive home environment for children from infancy through the preschool period.
Journal Article
Psychosocial impacts of home-schooling on parents and caregivers during the COVID-19 pandemic
Background
The COVID-19 pandemic has been highly disruptive, with the closure of schools causing sudden shifts for students, educators and parents/caregivers to remote learning from home (home-schooling). Limited research has focused on home-schooling during the COVID-19 pandemic, with most research to date being descriptive in nature. The aim of the current study was to comprehensively quantify the psychosocial impacts of home-schooling on parents and other caregivers, and identify factors associated with better outcomes.
Methods
A nationally representative sample of 1,296 Australian adults was recruited at the beginning of Australian COVID-19 restrictions in late-March 2020, and followed up every two weeks. Data for the current study were drawn from waves two and three. Surveys assessed psychosocial outcomes of psychological distress, work and social impairment, and wellbeing, as well as a range of home-schooling factors.
Results
Parents and caregivers who were home-schooling during the COVID-19 pandemic experienced significantly higher levels of psychological distress and work/social impairment compared to those who were not home-schooling or had no school-aged children. A current mental health diagnosis or lower levels of perceived support from their child’s school negatively affected levels of psychological distress, work and social impairment, and wellbeing in parents and caregivers involved in home-schooling.
Conclusions
The mental health impacts of home-schooling were high and may rise as periods of home-schooling increase in frequency and duration. Recognising and acknowledging the challenges of home-schooling is important, and should be included in psychosocial assessments of wellbeing during periods of school closure. Emotional and instrumental support is needed for those involved in home-schooling, as perceived levels of support is associated with improved outcomes. Proactive planning by schools to support parents may promote better outcomes and improved home-schooling experiences for students.
Journal Article
The role and impact of public-private partnerships in education
Enhancing the role of private sector partners in education can lead to significant improvements in education service delivery. However, the realization of such benefits depends in great part on the design of the partnership between the public and private sectors, on the overall regulatory framework of the country, and on the governmental capacity to oversee and enforce its contracts with the private sector. Under the right terms, private sector participation in education can increase efficiency, choice, and access to education services, particularly for students who tend to fail in traditional education settings. Private-for-profit schools across the world are already serving a vast range of usersâ€\"from elite families to children in poor communities. Through balanced public-private partnerships (PPPs) in education, governments can leverage the specialized skills offered by private organizations as well as overcome operating restrictions such as salary scales and work rules that limit public sector responses. 'The Role and Impact of Public-Private Partnerships in Education' presents a conceptualization of the issues related to PPPs in education, a detailed review of rigorous evaluations, and guidleines on how to create successful PPPs. The book shows how this approach can facilitate service delivery, lead to additional financing, expand equitable access, and improve learning outcomes. The book also discusses the best way to set up these arrangements in practice. This information will be of particular interest to policymakers, teachers, researchers, and development practitioners.
eBook
Homeschooling : the history and philosophy of a controversial practice
In Homeschooling: The History and Philosophy of a Controversial Practice, James G. Dwyer and Shawn F. Peters examine homeschooling's history, its methods, and the fundamental questions at the root of the heated debate over whether and how the state should oversee and regulate it. The authors trace the evolution of homeschooling and the law relating to it from before America's founding to the present day. In the process they analyze the many arguments made for and against it, and set them in the context of larger questions about school and education. They then tackle the question of regulation, and they do so within a rigorous moral framework, one that is constructed from a clear-eyed assessment of what rights and duties children, parents, and the state each possess. Viewing the question through that lens allows Dwyer and Peters to even-handedly evaluate the competing arguments and ultimately generate policy prescriptions. Homeschooling is the definitive study of a vexed question, one that ultimately affects all citizens, regardless of their educational background.
eBook