Radar Operations and Data Collection in Support of Meteorological Research in Northeastern Illinois

published or submitted for publicationis peer reviewedOpe

Beyond Libertarianism: Interpretations of Mill\u27s Harm Principle and the Economic Implications Therein

The thesis will examine the harm principle, as originally described by John Stuart Mill. In doing so, it will defend that, though unintended, the harm principle may justify several principles of distributive justice. To augment this analysis, the paper will examine several secondary authors’ interpretations of the harm principle, including potential critiques of the thesis itself

Annual Report of Hail Studies

published or submitted for publicationis peer reviewedOpe

Development of Online Modules to Introduce Prospective Students to the Profession of Occupational Therapy

Prospective students interested in Occupational Therapy academic programs are subject to the admission criteria of each educational institution, including experiential learning, clinical observation hours, volunteer experiences, or similar prerequisites. There are no standardized criteria established for these prerequisite requirements b the accreditation agency, as it is within the scope of Higher Education. There is no accountability at the regional or local level to ensure educational opportunities for prospective students interested in higher education, creating a gap as highlighted in the recent global pandemic, where student access to education was further challenged. Students are reliant on a variable set of requirements for each academic program of interest and self-initiate and negotiate contact with external stakeholders for completion of experiential learning, clinical observation hours, volunteer experiences, or similar prerequisites. This doctoral project addresses this educational gap by developing introductory occupational therapy modules that meet the needs and expectations of students through collaboration with students in the curriculum design process. The online modules will assist future students interested in learning more about occupational therapy or seeking completion of the prerequisites of occupational therapy academic programs. Providing a standardized and accessible set of educational modules will close the gap in student educational access. The modules also offer an asoffert instrument for students and occupational therapy academic programs to use for inclusion or integration in meeting prerequisite knowledge and experience requirements during the application process. A more accessible introductory course created with standardized core concepts of occupational therapy may help student recruitment or retention efforts

Some applications of remote sensing of crop-hail damage in the insurance industry

Cover title.Includes aerial photographs depicting crop damage by hail.Includes bibliographical references (p. 17)

Shelf Appeal: Library Science Students' Attraction to Fiction Dust Jacket Covers and Their Opinions about Books as Objects

Though people are admonished not to judge a book by its cover, they often do. In order to better understand the communication between a person and a dust jacket, fifteen library science students were interviewed to elicit their opinions about twenty-two fiction books based on information gleaned from front covers. Additionally, the students were asked various questions regarding their attitudes about dust jackets as information providers and about books as objects in order to gain insight into their ideas about the artifactual value of dust jackets and books. The guiding questions were: What is it in a novel's front cover design that first attracts a reader to a book, and does the cover affect the reading of the text? Do library science students, future custodians of books, view fiction books and their dust jackets as merely the carriers of the text, part of the text, or as something else entirely

The distribution and nest survival of Giant Canada Geese breeding in Iowa

Updated measurements of Canada goose distribution and nest survival are essential to develop and evaluate management strategies. Iowa\u27s protocols for monitoring the Canada goose breeding population use a stratified random sampling method to select square-mile sections to be surveyed by helicopter. Precise population estimates require that the universe of survey plots be accurately stratified. I provided a more statistically rigorous method of stratifying Iowa\u27s square-mile sections by developing a model to predict Canada goose breeding pair densities by incorporating updated National Wetlands Inventory data and previous breeding population survey data. I found that breeding pairs were best predicted by the wetland types, number of wetlands, area of each wetland type, and a quadratic of the area of each wetland type in each section, as well as an interaction between the wetland types and the area of each wetland type, and random effects for observations and sections. The model indicated that goose densities are highest at large semi-permanent marshes. Reliable estimates of Canada goose nest survival allow management agencies to evaluate available nesting habitats and determine appropriate management techniques. I monitored Canada goose nests at five state-managed wetland complexes to determine how nesting habitat influenced nest survival rates at rural wetlands in north-central Iowa. I found that nest structures produced significantly higher nest survival than nests on islands and muskrat houses. I also found that shallow lake renovation activities at Rice Lake Wildlife Management Area, which involved manipulating the water level, had a negative impact on Canada goose nest survival