There are some closed issues of particle systems losing data in linked copies. But I
can't see anything active on this issue.
Tested on OSX and Windows-7 with 'official' Blender 2.76b. Different GPUs.
It looks like some (or all?) cycles render settings associated with a particle system are lost when
the particle system is attached to a linked copy of the emitter.
To reproduce:
Open 'Original.blend' and hit render. Nice curve segments on the hair.
Now open 'Linked.blend' and render. It looks like the hair is back to line segments.
Note: The latter simply links in a copy of the object+particle system from 'Original'.
The lamp and camera are local, so are not in exactly the same position.
Attached: {F282882} and {F282881}