The Prominence of Affect in Creativity: Expanding the Conception of Creativity in Mathematical Problem Solving

Constructs such as fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration have been accepted as integral components of creativity. In this chapter, the authors discuss affect (Leder GC, Pehkonen E, Törner G (eds), Beliefs: a hidden variable in mathematics education? Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, 2002; McLeod DB, J Res Math Educ 25:637–647, 1994; McLeod DB, Adams VM, Affect and mathematical problem solving: a new perspective. Springer, New York, 1989) as it relates to the production of creative outcomes in mathematical problem solving episodes. The saliency of affect in creativity cannot be underestimated, as problem solvers require an appropriate state of mind in order to be maximally productive in creative endeavors. Attention is invested in commonly accepted sub-constructs of affect such as anxiety, aspiration(s), attitude, interest, and locus of control, self-efficacy, self-esteem, and value (Anderson LW, Bourke SF, Assessing affective characteristics in the schools. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, 2000). A new sub-construct of creativity that is germane and instrumental to the production of creative outcomes is called iconoclasm and it is discussed in the context of mathematical problem solving episodes

Mass limit for the lightest neutralino

Indirect limits on the mass of the lightest neutralino are derived from the results of searches for charginos, neutralinos, and sleptons performed with data taken by the ALEPH Collaboration at centre-of-mass energies near the Z peak and at 130 and 136 GeV. Within the context of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model and when $M_{\tilde\nu}\ge 200$ GeV/c^2, the bound $M_\chi>12.8$ GeV/c^2 at the 95\% confidence level applies for any $\tan\beta$. The impact of lighter sneutrinos is presented in the framework of SUSY grand unified theories; a massless neutralino is allowed only for a narrow range of $\tan\beta$, $\mu$, and the scalar mass parameter $m_0$. Finally, by including Higgs mass constraints and requiring that radiative electroweak symmetry breaking occur, more stringent bounds on $M_\chi$ as a function of $\tan\beta$ are derived.Indirect limits on the mass of the lightest neutralino are derived from the results of searches for charginos, neutralinos, and sleptons performed with data taken by the ALEPH Collaboration at centre-of-mass energies near the Z peak and at 130 and 136 GeV. Within the context of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model and when $M_{\tilde\nu}\ge 200$ GeV/c~2, the bound $M_\chi>12.8$ GeV/c~2 at the 95\% confidence level applies for any $\tan\beta$. The impact of lighter sneutrinos is presented in the framework of SUSY grand unified theories; a massless neutralino is allowed only for a narrow range of $\tan\beta$, $\mu$, and the scalar mass parameter $m_0$. Finally, by including Higgs mass constraints and requiring that radiative electroweak symmetry breaking occur, more stringent bounds on $M_\chi$ as a function of $\tan\beta$ are derived