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The Effect of Non-Profit Organizations on the Passage of Climate Change Legislation in Connecticut
No full textConnecticut 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
How Individual Differences in Cue Weighting Influence the Link Between Memory and Speech in Noise Perception
No full textListening to speech is challenging, particularly when there is background noise or ambiguities in the speech signal. Numerous factors impact our ability to understand speech, including age, cognitive processes, and contextual information. But how do we account for these challenges? The types of cues we use may aid us in perceiving ambiguities in speech. Some individuals may rely on semantic cues (higher-level cues), such as how words relate to each other, or they may rely on acoustic-phonetic cues (lower-level cues), such as the durational information in the speech signal itself. But why do individuals differ in the types of cues they rely on? To test this, 60 older adults and 61 younger adults completed a test of speech in noise, a test of working memory, and a cue use task. Individuals who use lower-level cues (including sentence rate and vowel length) scored better on the test of speech in noise than those who use semantic cues. Individuals who use semantic cues had more of a difference in scores on the high versus low predictability sentences on the test of speech in noise. No significant relationship between cue weighting and working memory was found. Overall, these findings suggest that individuals differ in the types of cues they use to aid them in speech perception, and this cue weighting relates to meaningful differences in the real-world perception of challenging speech
Assessing Leadership in Business: A Critical Investigation of Ray Dalio
No full textUnderstanding what makes an effective leader remains a key point in the study of business leadership and company success. This paper offers a critical assessment of Ray Dalio\u27s leadership at Bridgewater Associates, diving into both his strengths and shortcomings of his unconventional approach. Examining his leadership through established frameworks, Dalio’s success can be attributed to his clear vision-setting, culture of intellectual rigor, and rooted transparency. At the same time, it highlights points where his leadership style can be improved, especially in aspects such as employee recognition and the balance between high performance expectations and emotional intelligence
Analysis of the Effects of Septic Leach Field Failure on Groundwater Contamination
No full textOn-site septic treatment systems can be considered as one of the largest potential sources of groundwater pollution and contamination in the world, due to their widespread proliferation and variety of contaminants in wastewater. This project aimed to investigate the hypothetical scenario of a septic leach field failure on groundwater contamination through the formation of a septic system plume. The , and the expected values for the septic system plume were calculated. A MODFLOW groundwater model of the septic system was developed, and the solute transport simulator, MT3D-USGS was used to solve the model. Comparing the model results to the calculated values revealed a large discrepancy in the septic system plume dimensions, which was attributed to model geometry constraints and the addition of dispersion effects to the model. Potential future investigations for this project involve developing a more geometrically representative model and experimenting with dispersion effects on septic system plume formation
Signal Modeling of High Purity Germanium Detectors
No full textPulse 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
Wrack Lines Spring-Summer 2025, Volume 25, Number 1
No full textSpring-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
The New Reliability Override
No full textSection 202(c) of the Federal Power Act grants the Secretary of Energy a sweeping authority to exempt electric generation and transmission facilities from any federal, state, or local environmental laws. When Congress first adopted § 202(c) in 1935, it designed the provision as an emergency power that federal regulators could use to force fractious utilities to work together to preserve electricity reliability in times of war or natural disaster. But in the last decade things changed.
This Article, drawing on a novel catalog of all § 202(c) emergencies from the provision’s nearly ninety-year history, is the first to comprehensively describe § 202(c). The Article shows that new pressures on the reliability of the American electrical grid, along with an obscure 2015 amendment to the Federal Power Act, transformed § 202(c). No longer is it used to nudge reluctant utilities into action. Instead, starting in the first Trump administration and continuing in the Biden administration, grid operators facing impending blackouts used § 202(c) orders to allow them to run power plants in excess of Clean Air and Clean Water Act pollution limits. And § 202(c) is set to become even more important. Both the Trump and Biden administrations leaned on the provision in proposed policies for the electrical grid—the former to hinder the energy transition and the latter to push it along. This Article tells § 202(c)’s history, describes its transformation, and critically examines some methods for supervising the Department of Energy’s use of § 202(c)
Conducting Inclusion: A UDL-Inspired Approach to Choral Education
No full textIn this paper I explore the possibilities of a Universal Design for Learning (UDL)-inspired curriculum developed over four years of teaching a module on choral conducting education in three formats: online, as blended, and in-person. The learners were primary school generalist student-teachers. They had diverse backgrounds, experiences, and levels of confidence in choral singing and conducting. Examining UDL through the theoretical lens of inclusive pedagogy offered a theoretical foundation to discuss my approach to creating inclusive choral conducting environments that promote learning and participation. At the same time, implementing inclusive pedagogy through UDL brought to the surface institutional challenges and dilemmas around bell-curve thinking about ability and around different modes of teaching and learning. I conclude the paper with recommendations on further research concerned with offering flexible, accessible, and inclusive experiences for all through UDL-inspired curricula in Higher choral conducting education
UConn-MathWorks LFP/Gr Second-Life Battery Aging Dataset
No full textThis dataset is derived from a test campaign involving 108 commercial LithiumWerks 18650 LFP/Gr cells (nominal capacity: 1.2 Ah, nominal voltage: 3.3 V). The cells were cycled using Neware BTS 4000 testers under controlled temperature conditions. The cells were grouped (3 or 2 cells per group) and cycled under varying fast-charging protocols until their remaining capacity dropped below 80%, simulating end-of-first-life. Fast-charging protocols included: (1) one-step constant current–constant voltage (CCCV) charging with constant C-rates (4C–6C), (2) SOH-based derating CCCV charging with dynamic C-rate reduction, and (3) two-step charging combining a high-rate constant current (CC) step and 1C CCCV step based on a switching SOC (70%–90%). Discharge protocols used CC steps with variable C-rates (2C–4C) and depths of discharge (70%–100%).
Approximately every 5 days, a reference performance test (RPT) was conducted to measure capacity and internal resistance, using standardized CCCV/CC steps and slow/fast pulse tests. After reaching \u3c80% capacity, cells were “retired” from first-life cycling and subjected to second-life conditions with mild 0.5C full-depth cycling. The dataset aims to support state-of-health (SOH) estimation models, particularly for second-life battery applications
The Impact of Long-Term Exposure to Lip Cosmetics on the Fertility of Female Drosophila melanogaster
No full textAre products marketed as safe to use, truly safe to use? Inspired by an article exposing the dangers of Tampax tampons, this study examines potential reproductive risks from consumer lip products marketed as natural and safe18. Drosophila melanogaster, a model organism with genetic and reproductive similarities to humans, was utilized to test the impacts of Rhode and Avène lip cosmetics. Avène’s Cicalfate + Lips Repair Lip Balm is the closest alternative to Rhode’s unscented peptide lip treatment, which was mindfully chosen to test if affordability comes at the expense of safety. Various concentrations of these products will be exposed to two wild-type fly strains, Oregon R and Protamine::GFP (Probe::GFP) over a 7-day period. Hatchability experiments, pupae countings, and t-tests suggest that these products do not have a clear defect on fly fertility and embryo development