Identifying Trends Among University Club Athletes

This study explores the factors influencing students’ decisions to join and remain involved in club sports at the University of Connecticut. Drawing on survey data and in-depth interviews with current club sport athletes, the research investigates how demographic, socioeconomic, and personal background variables such as prior sport involvement, academic motivations, and social aspirations shape patterns of participation. Findings suggest that students from higher socioeconomic backgrounds and those with significant competitive youth sport involvement comprise most club sport athletes, often citing a desire for balance, community, and stress relief as key motivators to joining. These results align with prior literature on youth sports specialization, family influence, and systemic inequities in access to resources. By considering club sports within the broader context of college identity, this study highlights their unique role in enhancing student experience

Quality of Affected Upper Extremity Use During a Ride-On Toy-Based Training Program in Children with Unilateral Cerebral Palsy: A Pilot Study

Unilateral cerebral palsy (UCP) is a subtype of cerebral palsy that impacts movement and coordination on one side of the body. This condition often leads to reduced use of the affected upper extremity in daily tasks. This pilot study explored the feasibility and potential of a joystick-operated ride-on-toy training program as an engaging home-based and play-based intervention to promote affected upper extremity use in children with UCP. Five children from a larger sample of 15 children with a diagnosis of UCP between the ages of 3 and 8 years old were used as data for this thesis. This study included a six-week control phase during which children received treatment-as-usual, followed by a six-week intervention phase in which in addition to treatment-as-usual, children had training sessions twice a week using the modified joystick-operated ride-on toy to practice navigation and object-based upper extremity tasks. Datavyu software was used to code the non-navigational, object-based task sections of the videotaped sessions to categorize each upper extremity movement by type, laterality, independence, and fine versus gross motor. Sessions from early (week 1), mid (week 3), and late (week 6) sessions were compared to one another. Behavioral coding and analysis showed that over time children improved in their use of their affected arm during both unimanual and bimanual activities during training sessions. Moreover, children improved independent use of their affected arm with a decrease in the amount of adult assistance required-during performance of object-based functional tasks.Throughout the sessions, children became more independent and increased their use of their affected side to engage in functional task-related activities. These findings support existing literature highlighting the role of motivation and child engagement in successful therapy outcomes. These results provide hope for future play-based interventions and the utilization of a joystick-operated ride-on toy that can be used to create meaningful and accessible alternatives to upper limb therapies

Detection of Covid-19 Variants

The outbreak of Covid-19 in December 2019 was devastating to many but led to major advancements in vaccine research and development. The development of a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 infection offers protection for the public but cannot eliminate the risk of contracting Covid-19 due to the many viral mutations since the initial wild-type strain isolation in 2019. Analysis of these viral mutations will allow for the development of vaccines with greater protection against the new variants of the coronavirus. Secondary to Covid-19 infection seen in the pediatric population is Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children or MIS-C. Through qPCR analysis of pediatric clinical samples provided by two hospitals, one based in Hartford, CT and one based in Colombia from March 2021 to May 2022, I determined the viral load of clinical Covid-19 samples and used this for variant detection. Looking at 8 different variants of Covid-19 through qPCR analysis, which mutations present in each variant were determined. This information is useful for future studies in determining which variant each patient was infected with and correlating which variant is associated with the worst clinical outcomes in children. Information on specific variants and clinical outcomes will alert vaccine manufacturers to focus their attention on formulating a vaccine that offers stronger protection against the variants showing worse clinical outcomes

From the Eyes of Latinx Children: Parental Detainment and Deportation in Picture, Middle Grade, and Young Adult Books

In the current sociopolitical environment of the United States, detainment and deportation issues are highly prevalent for many Latinx families and have emotional, social, financial, and/or educational ramifications for affected children. However, discussing legal status challenges in educational settings can create spaces for open conversations and promote empathetic classroom communities. Furthermore, bibliotherapy, the therapeutic use of books to combat feelings of loneliness and guide readers through faced challenges (Gomm et al., 2017), could be one usage of these books. This research critically analyzes parental detainment and deportation portrayals from the perspective of a main Latinx character in 20 PreK-12th grade books to assess their representativeness and their potential to be tools for bibliotherapy. I coded the books using an instrument adapted from Gomm (2012) to examine demographic characterizations, legal status challenges described, and conversations about these challenges. Findings suggest that these books touch upon many prevailing emotional, social, and financial burdens in diversely representative and accurate ways. Anticipated “happy endings” are often contrasted in these stories’ conclusions with many Latinx parent(s)/parental figure(s) still in detainment or having been deported, which parallels reality for many families. However, the presence of educational burdens on Latinx children in these stories is limited which may impact school-based adults\u27 ability to recognize effects on a student’s academics or provide support. Nonetheless, authentic and relatable characters model strength for readers in these stories through activism, resilience, and other admirable traits/actions, which supports their possible use in bibliotherapeutic approaches

Wrack Lines Spring-Summer 2025, Volume 25, Number 1

Spring-Summer 2025 issue of CT Sea Grant\u27s biannual magazine focuses on the theme of, Finding their niche: Unique ways of serving people and the environment, with profiles of six standouts in various environmental fields

Un-fathering the Constitution

Constitutional law turns on Madison’s vision. This because Madison is universally acclaimed by the Supreme Court and legal academe as the Constitution’s father. However, Madison’s constitutional parentage sounds more in lore than logic. A careful review of recent historiography, Madison’s own writings, and new analytics tools available on the Quill Project reveal Madison as much less important to the Constitution than previously thought. He did not bring about the Convention, did not write the Virginia Plan, and was not that influential at the Constitutional Convention. Immediately after the Convention, Madison considered himself and the Constitution a failure, and disclaimed any singularly unique role in its framing. His influence grew post-Convention in writing the Federalist Papers and drafting the Bill of Rights but was more modest for the unamended Constitution. Madison does not a father make, especially in the singular sense. This paper focuses on the impact Madison’s demotion has on the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Constitution. Without Madison on the constitutional podium, several foundational moorings of constitutional law must be reconstructed on additional or alternative grounds

Signal Modeling of High Purity Germanium Detectors

Pulse shape analysis can be used to analyze radiation incident on a semiconductor diode detector. Finite element analysis (FEA) can be used to simulate high purity germanium detectors with user-specified geometry, impurity concentration, and bias voltage. Subsequent streamline calculation can be used to conduct pulse shape analysis for single and multiple site gamma-ray interactions within the detector volume. Cross sections of the detector can be visualized by contour plots of the electric field, drift velocity magnitude, and collection time, as well as t30 and t90 rise-time values