Low sidelobe level low-cost earth station antennas for the 12 GHz broadcasting satellite service

An experimental investigation of the performance of 1.22 m and 1.83 m diameter paraboloid antennas with an f/D ratio of 0.38 and using a feed developed by Kumar is reported. It is found that sidelobes below 30 dB can be obtained only if the paraboloids are relatively free of surface errors. A theoretical analysis of clam shell distortion shows that this is a limiting factor in achieving low sidelobe levels with many commercially available low cost paraboloids. The use of absorbing pads and small reflecting plates for sidelobe reduction is also considered

Exploring the Direct Relationship Between Sustainability Leader Ecospirituality and Human Capital Sustainability Leadership Capacity: A Moderated Mediation Study

The primary purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if a sustainability leader’s ecospirituality significantly impacts one’s human capital sustainability leadership. The secondary purpose of this study was to determine if one’s psychological capital mediates this relationship and if one’s environmental attitudes moderate the relationships between ecospirituality, human capital sustainability leadership, and psychological capital. Participants in this study included sustainability leaders in top positions at their organizations in the four highest-ranked countries (Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and the United Kingdom) on the 2022 Climate Change Performance Index. These individuals had positions of chief sustainability officer, head of sustainability, or sustainability manager in their respective organizations The quantitative results indicate that ecospirituality significantly impacts human capital sustainability leadership. However, psychological capital was not found to have a significant mediating impact on this relationship. Additionally, environmental attitudes did not have a significant moderating impact on any of the relationships between ecospirituality, human capital sustainability leadership, and psychological capital. Additional findings included an influence of gender and age on ecospirituality and a direct relationship between psychological capital and human capital sustainability leadership. The hypotheses test results and the additional findings are discussed along with potential areas for future research. Advisor: Gina S. Matki

A Biosystematic Study of the Genus Elymus (Gramineae: Triticeae) in Iowa

A study of the Iowa taxa of the genus Elymus is presented based upon extensive field and herbarium work. Characters used for analysis include anatomy, chromosome number, and morphology. Numerical analyses, distribution maps, and a key to species are included

The Parry Herbarium

The collections of Dr. C. C. Parry are of scientific importance because they include types of numerous plant species from the western United States and Mexico. The Parry herbarium, presently housed at Iowa State University, includes about 18,000 specimens. Earlier reports indicated the Parry collection numbered 30,000 specimens and \u27\u27not less than 15,000 species.\u27\u27 A brief history of the collection is reported. It is probable that Parry\u27s partial dispersal of his collection and his inadequate record keeping resulting in an overestimation of the number of his specimens are cause for the conflicting figures in the literature

Small Employer Perspectives On The Affordable Care Act's Premiums, SHOP Exchanges, And Self-Insurance

Beginning January 1, 2014, small businesses having no more than fifty full-time-equivalent workers will be able to obtain healthinsurance for their employees through Small Business Health OptionsProgram (SHOP) exchanges in every state. Although the Affordable Care Act intended the exchanges to make the purchasing of insurance moreattractive and affordable to small businesses, it is not yet known how they will respond to the exchanges. Based on a telephone survey of 604 randomly selected private firms having 3 -- 50 employees, we found that both firms that offered health coverage and those that did not rated most features of SHOP exchanges highly but were also very price sensitive.More than 92 percent of nonoffering small firms said that if they were to offer coverage, it would be "very" or "somewhat" important to them that premium costs be less than they are today. Eighty percent of offering firms use brokers who commonly perform functions of benefit managers -- functions that the SHOP exchanges may assume. Twenty-six percent of firms using brokers reported discussing self-insuring with their brokers. An increase in the number of self-insured small employers could pose a threat to SHOP exchanges and other small-group insurance reforms