Discovering Supersymmetry at the Tevatron in Wino LSP Scenarios

In supersymmetric models, Winos, partners of the SU(2) gauge bosons, may be the lightest supersymmetric particles (LSPs). For generic parameters, charged and neutral Winos are highly degenerate. Charged Winos travel macroscopic distances, but can decay to neutral Winos and extremely soft leptons or pions before reaching the muon chambers, thereby circumventing conventional trigger requirements based on energetic decay products or muon chamber hits. However, these charginos are detectable, and can be triggered on when produced in association with jets. In addition, we propose a new trigger for events with a high p_T track and low hadronic activity. For Tevatron Run II with luminosity 2 fb^-1, the proposed searches can discover Winos with masses up to 300 GeV and explore a substantial portion of the parameter space in sequestered sector models.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures; Fig.1 corrected, discussion generalized, references adde

Predicting Science Achievement in India: Role of Gender, Selfefficacy, Interests, and Effort

We examined the role of self-reported effort in predicting chemistry and physics achievement after controlling for prior achievement, gender, and mathematics/science self-efficacy and interest. The data were collected from two Asian Indian high school samples. Self-reported effort was hypothesized to be the most salient predictor of achievement, given its important role in the Asian Indian culture. Based on prior findings, it was also hypothesized that gender would moderate the effect of interest on achievement. Both hypotheses were supported. After other key variables were controlled (prior achievement, gender, and mathematics/science self-efficacy and interest), self-reported effort was a significant predictor of both chemistry achievement and physics achievement. Moreover, gender did moderate the relation of interest and achievement. Boys who were more interested in physics and chemistry achieved higher scores, but girls’ level of interest did not correlate with their achievement

Alternative Supersymmetric Spectra

We describe the features of supersymmetric spectra, alternative to and qualitatively different from that of most versions of the MSSM. The spectra are motivated by extensions of the MSSM with an extra U(1)' gauge symmetry, expected in many grand unified and superstring models, which provide a plausible solution to the mu problem, both for models with supergravity and for gauge-mediated supersymmetry breaking. Typically, many or all of the squarks are rather heavy (larger than one TeV), especially for the first two families, as are the sleptons in the supergravity models. However, there is a richer spectrum of Higgs particles, neutralinos, and (possibly) charginos. Concrete examples of such spectra are presented, and the phenomenological implications are briefly discussed.Comment: 12 pages, LaTe

Conservation Investment and Carbon Payments in US Agriculture: Implications of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022

Conservation is essential for agricultural sustainability in order to preserve soil productivity and mitigate adverse impacts on ecosystems such as degraded water quality and wildlife habitats. It can be costly to adopt conservation practices that help sustain farm soil health in the long term but do not always generate a positive return for farmers in the short term (e.g., reduced tillage, cover crops). Furthermore, some conservation practices potentially improve off-farm environmental conditions but do not improve farm profitability (e.g., riparian buffers, wetland restoration). The United States has a long history of governmental investment in conservation to maintain the economic and environmental sustainability of agriculture. Recently, the pursuit of carbon neutrality has brought increased attention and funding to conservation in agriculture. This article briefly explores governmental conservation investment in agriculture and some key issues on its interactions with the fast-developing private carbon payment programs

Broadscale variability in tree data of the historical Public Land Survey and its consequences for ecological studies

Historical records provide valuable information on the prior conditions of ecological systems and species distribution, especially in the context of growing environmental change. However, historical records may have associated bias and error because their original purpose may not have been for scientific use. The Public Land Survey (PLS) of the U.S. General Land Office (GLO) conducted from the late 1700s to the early 1900s has been widely used to characterize historical vegetation in the United States prior to major Euro-American settlements. Studies have shown that variability and bias exist in the data. However, these studies have not typically encompassed a region large enough to adequately assess this variability across diverse landscapes, nor attempted to distinguish potential ecological significance from statistical differences. Here we do this by analyzing variability in PLS data across all of northern Wisconsin, USA, a 75 000-km2 landscape. We found ecologically significant differences among survey point types for tree species, size, and the distance to survey points. Both corner and line trees show some level of bias for species and size, but corner trees are likely the best sample. Although statistical tests show significant differences in species composition, tree size, and distance by tree sequence and location, the differences in species composition and tree size are not ecologically significant. The species differences are probably caused by fine-scale variability in the forest communities. The value of the PLS data remains high; choice of spatial extent, methods of analyses, and bias significance need to be evaluated according to variables of interest and project purpose. Read More: http://www.esajournals.org/doi/abs/10.1890/10-0232.

Graduating with a Science Major: The Roles of First-Year Science Interests and Educational Aspirations

The purpose of this longitudinal study was to determine whether the degree of science interests and educational aspirations in students’ first year of university would significantly differentiate those students who graduated with a science major from those students who did not graduate with a science major. Moreover, the authors expected that educational aspirations would moderate the relation between science interests and graduating with/without a science major. First-year college students in introductory science courses were surveyed in their first semester and then again upon graduation. These 166 students’ science interests and educational aspirations were assessed at Time 1; their educational major was assessed upon graduation. The findings supported both hypotheses. Science interests and educational aspirations significantly differentiated whether or not students graduated with science majors. Moreover, the interaction of science interests and educational aspirations also significantly differentiated whether or not students graduated with a science major. In short, students who graduated with science majors, compared to their counterparts who graduated with nonscience majors, had significantly higher interests only when they also had higher educational aspirations

Distinguishing Beginning Premed Students from their Science Peers: The Salience of Proximal Variables

The purpose of the study was to better understand how students at the beginning of a premed curriculum are different from their science peers on career-related variables. A total of 165 undergraduates were classified into three groups; these were premed students, students with the intent to pursue a graduate degree, and students with the intent to pursue a bachelor’s degree. Both distal (e.g., prior achievement) and proximal (e.g., mathematics and science self-efficacy and interest) social cognitive constructs were measured. Based on social cognitive career theory (SCCT), the authors predicted that the three groups would not differ on the distal variables. In contrast, the authors expected systematic group differences on the proximal variables. The hypothesis was supported; no significant group differences were found for the distal variables, but the premed group scored significantly higher than the bachelor’s degree group on almost all proximal SCCT variables. Implications for career counseling are discussed

Predicting Graduation: The Role of Mathematics/Science Self-Efficacy

Self-efficacy in the mathematics/science domain is conceptualized as partially determining whether science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students would persist toward reaching important milestones like graduating with a bachelor’s degree. The authors conducted a longitudinal study to examine if mathematics/science self-efficacy would significantly predict graduation status 4 to 8 years later after high school academic performance and mathematics aptitude were controlled in a university sample of introductory science students. Moreover, they looked at whether mathematics/science self-efficacy would significantly predict graduation status 4 to 8 years later after first semester grade point average (GPA) was controlled in addition to prior performance and aptitude. The sample consisted of 211 university students who graduated with a bachelor’s degree and 69 university students who did not graduate with a bachelor’s degree. The authors reported that mathematics/science self-efficacy significantly predicted graduation status 4 to 8 years later after controlling for prior performance and aptitude. The addition of mathematics/science self-efficacy improved the accuracy of identifying which participants dropped out before graduation by 4.4% in this sample. When first semester GPA was included in the control variables, the incremental contribution of mathematics/science self-efficacy to the prediction of retention status was null as expected. Findings are related to theory and prior research