Teaching Strategies for Twice-Exceptional Students

This research study investigates effective strategies for supporting twice-exceptional (2e) students, who possess both gifted abilities and a co-occurring disability such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, or a Specific Learning Disability. Despite a prevalence perhaps as high as 1 in every 50-500 students, many 2e students remain unidentified, and their unique educational needs are often unmet. This study addresses the challenges faced by 2e students, including difficulties in identification due to the masking of giftedness by disability and vice versa, as well as social and emotional issues. Drawing upon existing literature that highlights the necessity of integrated instruction combining gifted and special education services, this research explores practical classroom strategies for cultivating academic strengths, managing cognitive learning processes, and providing social and emotional support. Furthermore, the study examines the importance of collaboration among educators in creating a holistic and strengths-based support system for 2e learners. By focusing on experiential evidence and best practices in the field, this research aims to broaden the understanding of effective interventions and provide guidance for educators and future teacher preparation to serve the complex learning profiles of twice-exceptional students more effectively. Ultimately, this work seeks to bridge the gap between research and practice to ensure that the unique talents and skills of 2e students are recognized and nurtured

Multimodal Benchmarking for NCAA Basketball

We present the first multimodal, multitask benchmark for NCAA basketball, synthesizing structured statistical features with large language model (LLM)-generated game summaries across 19,739 games spanning four NCAA Division I seasons (2021--2025). We evaluate three model families---XGBoost, deep neural networks, and Transformers---under tabular-only and early-fusion settings to measure the impact of LLM-derived textual embeddings. To assess practical utility, we simulate fixed-stake and Kelly criterion-based betting strategies using historical bookmaker odds, analyzing both profitability and downside risk via Monte Carlo simulation. Our results show that XGBoost with early-fusion achieves the highest return on investment and the lowest risk of loss. This work is, to our knowledge, the first to integrate LLM-generated narrative data with structured inputs for calibrated forecasting in sports, offering a reproducible benchmark for multimodal decision-making under uncertainty

The Efficient Default Rule for Sandbagging in Mergers and Acquisitions: A Limited Pro-Sandbagging Default

In the area of mergers and acquisitions (“M&A”), a buyer “sandbags” a seller when, knowing the seller has breached—intentionally or unintentionally—a representation or warranty prior to closing, the buyer nonetheless closes the sale and subsequently brings a post-closing indemnification claim. Parties to a merger or acquisition can negotiate a pro- or anti-sandbagging provision; however, the recent trend has been rising instances of silence in M&A agreements. Given the modern majority default rule, the result is that most buyers in the United States hold a sandbagging right; however, default rules are ambiguous, uncertain, and inconsistent across jurisdictions. While sandbagging at first glance appears unfair to the seller, the situation is far more nuanced, and there is potential for perverse disclosure incentives for both buyer and seller. The recent trend towards silence reflects not an acquiescence by sellers to the default rule of the governing jurisdiction, as scholars have previously suggested, but rather prohibitively high transaction costs and valuation issues faced by both parties that make negotiating over sandbagging language in the M&A agreement inherently inefficient. This Note suggests that a modified version of a pro-sandbagging default rule that focuses on knowledge of breach obtained post-signing but pre-closing, limits “knowledge” to actual knowledge obtained by senior executives and members of the due diligence team, and places a shifting burden of proof on both parties, efficiently incentivizes the buyer and seller to collaboratively disclose, handle pre-closing knowledge of breach with special indemnities and reductions in purchase price, and avoid litigation. Such a rule also effectuates the “fairest” outcome from a public policy perspective, by allowing a successful sandbagging defense only when “sandbagging” has occurred in a knowing, premeditated manner. Ultimately, the default sandbagging rule of each jurisdiction will depend upon its public policy, and this Note provides negotiating strategies for both buyer and seller when forced into an adverse sandbagging position

The Effect of Non-Profit Organizations on the Passage of Climate Change Legislation in Connecticut

Connecticut has a long history of climate action. In this study, I looked into the effect that non-governmental organizations have on the passage of climate change legislation in Connecticut. Eighteen different climate policy stakeholders, including legislatures, non-governmental organization (NGO) staff members, youth activists and state employees were interviewed to gain their perspective on how non-profits forward climate initiatives. I found that non-profit organizations do have a significant impact on the passage of climate change legislation in Connecticut by working as providers of information to legislators and mobilizers of constituents. This impact can be limited by various political factors

International education and spiritual emptiness A reflection from Europe

This essay is a revolt against a biased understanding called “internationalization” in education which grounds all historical, geographical, philosophical, ecological, and cultural distinctions in the world into a Platonic absolute. The key to this problem, this essay argues, lies in the drive to ontological, conceptual, or theoretical understanding in our approach to knowledge with its primacy in the Western thought. This essay calls into question this absolute sphere of influence, power and mastery enjoyed by the Western sciences, and a sense of space and authority it enjoys to make others impossible in the world. It does so by bringing different dimensions of learning and being found in the spiritual world

Wrack Lines Volume 25, Number 2, Fall-Winter 2025-2026

Fall-Winter 2025-2026 issue of Wrack Lines explores 40 years of stewardship for Long Island Sound now and into the future, the work of the Long Island Sound Partnership, a pilot project using a new type of diving helmet to broadcast from undersea locations, a survey of public perceptions of the Sound, the life and legacy of former CT Sea Grant Director Edward Monahan, and the aspirations and reflections of recently retired CT Sea Grant Associate Director Nancy Balcom and her successor Jess Brandt

Internationalization as Transformation: Teaching, Research, and Innovation in Gulf STEM Education

This special issue examines the internationalization of higher education in the Gulf region, with a focus on culturally responsive approaches to teaching, learning, and research in STEM disciplines. Contributors investigate how institutions across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and the wider Gulf are leveraging digital technologies, cross-border collaborations, and development centers to advance innovation, inclusivity, and sustainability. The articles highlight diverse strategies, from embedding intercultural fluency and equity in curricula to addressing grand challenges through global student perspectives and faculty role transformation. Together, these contributions present a forward-thinking vision of internationalization—one that resists conventional models and instead emphasizes cultural preservation, collaborative research, and interdisciplinary problem-solving

Legal and Policy Responses to Sexual Harassment in Housing

The sexual harassment of low-income women by their housing providers is a clear national problem that has only recently become the focus of coordinated nationwide enforcement efforts by federal agencies, including the Department of Justice. While these developments are welcome, the problem requires proactive responses as well. This Essay examines data from a study of all of DOJ’s sexual harassment in housing cases and uses this information to identify the most problematic types of housing providers and the most common forms of harassment. Specifically, harassment appears to occur most frequently in private rental housing and is perpetuated by managers (usually the owners of the property) who operate with little or no oversight. Additionally, the vast majority of sexual harassment in housing involves a perpetrator who explicitly offers to trade rent for sexual activity. With this in mind, the Essay then suggests targeted legal and policy responses to address the problem

Intercultural Transofmrational Experiences of International Faculty in an American University

This qualitative interpretive study investigated the intercultural and transformational experiences of selected international faculty in a public university in the southeastern United States. This study collected data using semi-structured interviews with seven African and Asian international faculty from a public university in the southeastern United States. The themes that emerged from the data showed that time was of the essence in achieving proficiency in the communication systems of the host environment. Learning about the culture of the host environment was a gradual learning process that involved strategies such as total cultural immersion in the university activities, regular interaction with American-born faculty, listening to the radio, and watching television and movies to improve spoken English. Participants indicated that their cultural transformational experiences were fostered by being embraced and shown a sense of inclusion and belonging, delegated functions, and receiving constructive feedback for improvement. Furthermore, participants alluded to the openness of the University environment to integrate their cultures, resulting in cultural hybridization and a unique and expanded identity. The study provides additional information on international faculty members’ cross-cultural adaptation and offers new insights into their acculturation and integration into the U.S. university system. The study can be valuable to administrators, diversity officers, program directors, and all professionals committed to advancing social equity within their campus community

Lost in Translation: Chomskyan Analysis of Language Variation in AI, Post-Critical Learners, and Native Speakers

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Large Language Models (LLMs) have revolutionized linguistic theory, raising questions about human language acquisition. Some argue AI\u27s language generation challenges the concept of innate linguistic ability, while others contend it reinforces it. This research examines AI\u27s Surplus of the Stimulus learning—relying on vast datasets—against human language acquisition, particularly within Chomskyan frameworks of Universal Grammar and the Poverty of the Stimulus. By analyzing language production across three groups—Native English Speakers, Post-Critical Period Second Language Learners, and LLMs—this study compares linguistic complexity using the Lexical Opulence Index (LOI). Data is collected through structured prompts across four linguistic registers: literary, simplified, technical, and speculative. Findings will clarify the mechanisms of human language learning, address AI’s limitations in true linguistic acquisition, and inform second-language learning methodologies. This research underscores the fundamental distinctions between AI-generated and human language, supporting theories of innate linguistic structures