Monopole Bubbling via String Theory

In this paper, we propose a string theory description of generic 't Hooft defects in $\mathcal{N}=2$ $SU(N)$ supersymmetric gauge theories. We show that the space of supersymmetric ground states is given by the moduli space of singular monopoles and that in this setting, Kronheimer's correspondence is realized as T-duality. We conjecture that this brane configuration can be used to study the full dynamics of monopole bubbling.Comment: 46 pages plus Appendi

Proton Decay and the Planck Scale

Even without grand unification, proton decay can be a powerful probe of physics at the highest energy scales. Supersymmetric theories with conserved R-parity contain Planck-suppressed dimension 5 operators that give important contributions to nucleon decay. These operators are likely controlled by flavor physics, which means current and near future proton decay experiments might yield clues about the fermion mass spectrum. I present a thorough analysis of nucleon partial lifetimes in supersymmetric one-flavon Froggatt-Nielsen models with a single U(1)_X family symmetry which is responsible for the fermionic mass spectrum as well as forbidding R-parity violating interactions. Many of the models naturally lead to nucleon decay near present limits without any reference to grand unification.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, talk given at PASCOS '04, to appear in the proceeding

Against Molinism: A Refutation of William Lane Craig\u27s Molinism

The debate concerning human free will, human moral culpability, and God’s sovereignty has raged for millennia within the Christian church. The recent rediscovery of the medieval philosophical theory known as Molinism brought Molinism to the fore of this debate. One major contemporary proponent of Molinism is William Lane Craig, the famous philosopher, theologian, and apologist. The purpose of this essay is to present a refutation of Craig\u27s brand of Molinism by arguing that Craig’s Molinism relies on a flawed view of human freedom and further fails to reconcile this flawed view of human freedom with God’s sovereignty

Evaluating the Georgia HOPE Scholarship Program: Impact on Students Attending Public Colleges and Universities

Two years after starting college, recipients of Georgia's HOPE scholarship program are more likely to still be enrolled in college, have higher grade point averages (GPA), and have earned more credit hours than their counterparts. The Council for School Performance, housed in the Applied Research Center in the School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University, conducted the first assessment of the impact of the HOPE scholarship on college performance. After following the 1994-95 HOPE recipients into their third year of college, the results show a positive impact of the program on all three outcomes included in the study.HOPE provides Georgia high school graduates who earn an overall high school GPA of 3.0 or higher with free tuition, fees, and a book allowance at public colleges and universities. Only HOPE scholars with a high school GPA between 3.0 and 3.16 were selected for this evaluation. This allowed researchers to isolate the effect of the HOPE scholarship on the recipients by selecting a comparison group with similar characteristics. The comparison group was matched by their core high school GPA (includes academic courses only) and institution type. The students in the comparison group did not receive the HOPE scholarship because they did not apply or did not meet all of the HOPE eligibility requirements.Two questions were analyzed in this evaluation: (1) Does HOPE motivate higher levels of performance and higher rates of persistence among students in college? (2) Does HOPE allow students greater choice in selecting institutions of higher education? Other factors such as institution type, sex, race, and high school preparation were included in this analysis because they also affect college performance. This study compares students with similar backgrounds to isolate the impact of HOPE on college performance. In future studies, we will examine another potential impact of HOPE, its effect on high school performance

An Evaluation of Georgia's HOPE Scholarship Program: Impact on College Attendance and Performance

Abstract pending

Design, Financial Trends and On-Field Success

Since college athletic departments are considered non-profit organizations and it’s expected they spend revenue in support of their overall mission which can be considered as achieving on-field success. Previous literature has uncovered multiple relationships between expenditures and revenue in comparison to on-field success. The common theory is that athletic programs must increase spending to increase wins, and increase wins to increase revenue. The purpose of our research is to explore financial trends within the rank based competition structure of NCAA Division I college football’s top 25 football teams in the 2012-2015 seasons. We will also acknowledge the effects of the transition from the former Bowl Championship Series (BCS) post season structure in 2012 and 2013 in comparison to the 2014 and 2015 seasons under the playoff structure that allows the top four teams to compete for the spotlight in an additional national championship bowl game. Results from our study indicate that total expenditures are the strongest indicator of on-field success, or the final rank of an institution and supports findings in our literature that explores the financial trends within the highest level of competition within Division I College football\u27s rank based design