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University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Theses/Dissertations

1999

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Suicide In The Las Vegas Homeless Population: Applying Durkheim's Theory Of Suicide, Joseph Dean Diaz Jan 1999

Suicide In The Las Vegas Homeless Population: Applying Durkheim's Theory Of Suicide, Joseph Dean Diaz

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This study is an empirical test of Durkheim's theory of suicide. Durkheim's 1897 theory holds that suicide is caused not by environmental or physiological forces, but by social forces, which either push to the individual to take his or her own life, or fail to prevent suicidal behavior; The population from which the data were gathered for this study was the Las Vegas homeless population. The lack of social bonds and social integration, which Durkheim found to be related to suicide, are generally present in homeless persons. Therefore, it was suspected that factors which contribute to homelessness would be positively …

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Qos-Based Multipath Routing For The Internet, Bing Chen Jan 1999

Qos-Based Multipath Routing For The Internet, Bing Chen

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The new generation of network services is being developed for incorporation in communication infrastructure. These services, generally called Quality of Services (QoS), should accommodate data file, video, and audio applications. The different performance requirements of these applications necessitate a re-examination of the main architectural components of today's networks, which were designed to support traditional data applications. Routing, which determines the sequence of network nodes a packet traverses between source and destination, is one such component. Here, we examine the potential routing problems in future Internet and discuss the advantages of class-based multi-path routing methods. The result is a new approach …

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Plant Physiology And Competition In A Mojave Desert Riparian Ecosystem: Proximate Solutions To Ultimate Questions, James Ray Cleverly Jan 1999

Plant Physiology And Competition In A Mojave Desert Riparian Ecosystem: Proximate Solutions To Ultimate Questions, James Ray Cleverly

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The distribution and abundance patterns of species are of primary interest in ecology, and the interactions between an organism and its abiotic and biotic environment provide a basis for a better understanding of the mechanisms by which distribution and abundance patterns are governed. Physiological ecology provides an ideal platform for integrating the effects of both biotic and abiotic influences upon species performance, thus conferring a process-oriented insight into ecological patterns. This dissertation considers the physiological characteristics that may be related to Mojave Desert floodplain domination by Tamarix ramosissima, an exotic invasive riparian plant; Four woody riparian species---Tamarix ramosissima, Salix exigua, …

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Strategic Planning For Hotel -Casino Projects, Franklin Neil Baker Jan 1999

Strategic Planning For Hotel -Casino Projects, Franklin Neil Baker

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Hotel-casinos have exhibited financial trouble and failure rates which exceed 30%. Even so, billions of dollars have been earmarked for continual development within the industry. The purpose of this study was to examine classical theories of strategic decision-making when planning for new or expanded hotel-casinos and then determine if these theories work for the industry or if the industry is so unique that special measures must become part of the strategic-planning process; Three factors related to strategic planning were selected for study: economic indicators, the product/service life cycle, the Altman Z Factor for bankruptcy prediction. Twelve Chief Financial Officers representing …

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An Exploratory Study Of Accommodations Provided To Welfare -To -Work Participants In Housekeeping Classifications, Terry Kent Jones Jan 1999

An Exploratory Study Of Accommodations Provided To Welfare -To -Work Participants In Housekeeping Classifications, Terry Kent Jones

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This study explored the workplace needs of welfare recipients in their transition from welfare to work, and the willingness of housekeeping managers and supervisors to provide workplace accommodations that could enhance the probability of a successful transition to self-sufficiency. Personal interviews and two separate survey questionnaires were used to survey employers and welfare recipients in an attempt to explore several research questions. Questions focused on the respective needs of employers and welfare recipients, and on each group's perceptions of the other group. This exploratory study was supported by a literature review and survey techniques. Data was subjected to appropriate statistical …

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Exploring The Role Of Service Process And Its Effect On Guest Encounter Satisfaction, Karl Joseph Mayer Jan 1999

Exploring The Role Of Service Process And Its Effect On Guest Encounter Satisfaction, Karl Joseph Mayer

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The dissertation empirically investigates the area of service process using a hospitality research setting. The concept of process has previously been identified as a key element in the marketing of services. However, the area of process design has had a reduced status in services, with the result that detailed service planning remains an unexplored research area. Similarly, no empirical research appears to have been conducted that defines the dimensions of the service delivery process. This study addresses that gap by developing a general model that identifies the key dimensions of service process. The model proposes that service process can be …

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Domestic Violence In The Hyperreal: An Examination Of Race And Ethnicity In "Real Life" Police Drama, Melissa J Monson Jan 1999

Domestic Violence In The Hyperreal: An Examination Of Race And Ethnicity In "Real Life" Police Drama, Melissa J Monson

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This project investigates public representations of domestic violence by highlighting televised reality-based police dramas (e.g., COPS, L.A.P.D.: Life on the Beat, Real Stories of the Highway Patrol, etc.). Specifically, it focuses on the intersection of race, class, and gender in the portrayal of police treatment of victims and suspects of domestic violence. The data for this research were gathered through the use of latent and manifest content analysis. Seventy-two hours (including commercials) of reality based programing were recorded for analysis, making 144 total individual shows and 48 episodes of each program; In general, police officers were portrayed as treating domestic …

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Facilitating Social Development With Play Groups In Early Childhood Settings, Janet Avery Butz Jan 1999

Facilitating Social Development With Play Groups In Early Childhood Settings, Janet Avery Butz

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This study investigated the efficacy of using facilitated and nonfacilitated play groups as an intervention for facilitating the social interactive behaviors of young children with and without disabilities. Sixteen students aged four to five years from a community-based preschool on a university campus participated in the study. The facilitated play group was assigned a facilitator who was trained to encourage the social and play interactions among the children using the guided participation strategies adapted from the Integrated Play Groups Resource Manual (Wolfberg & Schuler, 1992). The nonfacilitated play group was assigned the same adult-whose only role was to monitor the …

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An Analysis Of The Funding Of Public School Transportation In New Mexico, Joseph Roger Pribyl Jan 1999

An Analysis Of The Funding Of Public School Transportation In New Mexico, Joseph Roger Pribyl

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the major factors that currently influence school transportation costs in the 89 school districts in New Mexico. The study also compared a linear regression methodology with an alternative neural network methodology to identify the most robust predictive model for updating the current transportation funding model for New Mexico Public Schools. Finally, the study looked at the redistributive effect under the two alternatives; The research design was implemented in three phases. In Phase One, literature was reviewed to determine factors that contribute to the cost of pupil transportation, to recognize fiscal models used …

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A Political -Economic View Of The Federal Organization Of Work, Rose Marie Richardson Jan 1999

A Political -Economic View Of The Federal Organization Of Work, Rose Marie Richardson

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Using a comparative historical review of changes in the organization of work, this study analyzes the changing organization of federal work in relation to the organization of work in the private sector. Following a break in 1883 with the simple control wielded by political appointees running federal agencies, federal work became more tightly controlled through a greater bureaucratic organization of government work. However, a continuing influence of private work practices on federal work, such as the incorporation of the principles of scientific management, suggests not only a relationship between private and federal work practices but one that is stronger than …

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The Structural Dimensions Of Community-Oriented Police Departments, Stavros S Anthony Jan 1999

The Structural Dimensions Of Community-Oriented Police Departments, Stavros S Anthony

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

With the beginning of the twentieth century, police departments throughout the nation, during what has been called the reform movement, changed their organizational structure to that of a bureaucracy. This structural change occurred to deal with the problems of political patronage and corruption in police departments. The result, over time, was the development of municipal police departments into ridged, formalized, and centralized structures that were not responsive to the communities they served. Police officers became professional crime-fighters, who sought little community input; For the past 20 years, pressures from police professionals, local communities and governmental forces have caused police executives …

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Affirmative Action In Higher Education: A Legal Analysis Of The Use Of Race As A Factor In College Admissions After Bakke, N. J Pettit Jan 1999

Affirmative Action In Higher Education: A Legal Analysis Of The Use Of Race As A Factor In College Admissions After Bakke, N. J Pettit

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the legal status of affirmative action in higher education admission policies with regard to the use of race as a factor. This study answered these three questions:;What is the current status of the Regents of the University of California v. Bakke decision as a basis for assessing higher education admission policies? What legal benchmarks have emerged since the Bakke decision which may impact the development of university admission policies? What policies may achieve diversity in higher education admissions without incurring legal risks by using race and ethnicity in the admissions policies?;The significance …

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A Survey Of Southern Nevada Employers Regarding The Importance Of Scans Workplace Basic Skills, Greg P Richens Jan 1999

A Survey Of Southern Nevada Employers Regarding The Importance Of Scans Workplace Basic Skills, Greg P Richens

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This study utilized quantitative research methodology and incorporated a descriptive research design that described the perceptions of southern Nevada employers who responded to a survey regarding the importance of the workplace basic skills identified by the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) established by the U.S. Department of Labor. The study sought to determine whether the SCANS skills and competencies were perceived by responding employers as necessary for entry-level employment. Over 75 percent of respondents to the survey essentially considered the SCANS skills and competencies as adequately identifying competencies and skills needed for entry-level employment in their respective business. …

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Middle Level Practices And Teachers' Perceptions Of School Climate In Nevada, Cathy Andrews Jan 1999

Middle Level Practices And Teachers' Perceptions Of School Climate In Nevada, Cathy Andrews

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This study was designed to determine the extent to which recommended middle level practices have been implemented in Nevada's middle level schools and whether statistically significant differences in teachers' perceptions of school climate existed between schools that reported high levels of implementation of middle level practices when compared to schools that reported low levels of implementation. The Middle Level Practices Index (MSPI) was designed to measure the level of implementation of 18 middle level practices recognized in literature as being effective responsive practices appropriate to meet the identified needs of young adolescents (Riegle, 1971). The principal of each middle level …

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Educator Study Groups: An Exploration Of An Alternative Method Of Preservice Teacher Development, Leah Mary Herner Jan 1999

Educator Study Groups: An Exploration Of An Alternative Method Of Preservice Teacher Development, Leah Mary Herner

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This study was conducted to investigate the effect study groups have on preservice teacher education. The participants were enrolled in ESP 444, The Special Education Student in the General Education Classroom. The study took place during a 9-week period; Forty-two students participated in this study. The study involved placing the students randomly into two groups. The lecture group received lectures from graduate students in special education. The study group worked together in groups to research and discuss inclusion of students with disabilities. All students took a knowledge-based pretest and attitude survey prior to beginning the study. All students took a …

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An Analysis Of The Governance And Administrative Elements Of A Public -Private Partnership Approach To Community -Based Education, Celia Feres-Lewin Jan 1999

An Analysis Of The Governance And Administrative Elements Of A Public -Private Partnership Approach To Community -Based Education, Celia Feres-Lewin

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

An Analysis of the Governance and Administrative Elements of a Public-Private Partnership Approach to Community-Based Education is the study of the partnership forged between the W. K. Kellogg Foundation (Kellogg), Prevent Child Abuse America (PCAA), and the United States Department of Agriculture Cooperative States Research Education and Extension Service (USDA-CSREES) in 1994. The partners launched the Healthy Family America (HFA) model through Cooperative Extension's delivery system. HFA is a community-based education program for first-time parents in overburdened families. Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, Las Vegas (Clark County), Nevada, and Walworth County, Wisconsin, were the only three pilot sites selected by the partnership …

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Nationally Recognized Superintendents: Perceptions On How They Lead In Relation To The Characteristics Of Effective Schools Research, Warren Paul Mckay Jan 1999

Nationally Recognized Superintendents: Perceptions On How They Lead In Relation To The Characteristics Of Effective Schools Research, Warren Paul Mckay

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to increase the knowledge about the qualities, attitudes, and behaviors of public school superintendents in relation to the effective schools research. It also sought to further investigate the relationship between the role of the superintendent and the creation of effective schools and effective school districts. Finally, this research described how a recognized population of public school superintendents perceived themselves to incorporate effective school methods in their leadership strategies. This ultimately provided the opportunity to validate the findings of the effective schools research through the investigation of the superintendents office; This study employed what Creswell …

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Written Retellings Of Narrative And Expository Texts: A Case Study Of Elementary Primary Grade Delayed Male Readers, Timothy Todd Houge Jan 1999

Written Retellings Of Narrative And Expository Texts: A Case Study Of Elementary Primary Grade Delayed Male Readers, Timothy Todd Houge

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This study examined how four second grade delayed readers, who were delayed in various stages of reading and writing, read and wrote about narrative and expository paired-topic texts. This study was based on the assumption that: (a) elementary primary grade children could read and write about narrative and expository texts; (b) delayed readers are children who can learn to read, even though they are below grade level, if they are given the opportunity; and, (c) written retellings could be used to assess students' understanding of texts and are one method of bringing the reading-writing relationship together; A case study research …

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Finite Elements With H -Adaptation For Momentum, Heat And Mass Transport With Application To Environmental Flow, David Bradley Carrington Jan 1999

Finite Elements With H -Adaptation For Momentum, Heat And Mass Transport With Application To Environmental Flow, David Bradley Carrington

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Self-adaptive algorithms for 2 and 3-dimensional unstructured finite element grids are recent to the solution of partial differential equations, particularly those equations describing environmental transport. An h-adaptive grid embedding method is developed to solve the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations for fluid flow and scalar transport. An application to atmospheric mass transport is presented; This h-adaptive algorithm, in combination with the finite element method, has been designed to solve 2 and 3-dimensional problems on Pentium PC's, including problems involving complex geometry on high end PC's, workstations and mainframes. The Galerkin finite element solver is a 2 point Gauss-Legendre integration scheme which employs …

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Dynamic Element Matching Techniques For Data Converters, Jerry Wayne Bruce Jan 1999

Dynamic Element Matching Techniques For Data Converters, Jerry Wayne Bruce

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Analog to digital converter (ADC) circuit component errors create nonuniform quantization code widths and create harmonic distortion in an ADC's output. In this dissertation, two techniques for estimating an ADC's output spectrum from the ADC's transfer function are determined. These methods are compared to a symmetric power function and asymmetric power function approximations. Standard ADC performance metrics, such as SDR, SNDR, SNR, and SFDR, are also determined as a function of the ADC's transfer function approximations. New dynamic element matching (DEM) flash ADCs are developed. An analysis of these DEM flash ADCs is developed and shows that these DEM algorithms …

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The Art Of Truth: The Architecture Of 19th -Century American Allegory, Gary Brian Bennett Jan 1999

The Art Of Truth: The Architecture Of 19th -Century American Allegory, Gary Brian Bennett

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The current study, in its broadest scope, explores the nature of literary art primarily as a moral experience. Specifically, it addresses ironic allegory---a genre of fiction born during the American Renaissance of the mid-nineteenth century. As an amalgam of two other oblique genres, Gothic fiction and Puritan allegory, ironic allegory was originally the product of Nathaniel Hawthorne's moral imagination and tragic sensibility; consequently, its primary themes are the properties of time, the problems of tragedy, the process of transformation, and the preeminence of truth. Focusing exclusively on the architectural metaphors in Cooper's Templeton trilogy, Hawthorne's The House of the Seven …

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Think Different: A Comparison Of The Critical Thinking Abilities Of Education Majors, Shelly Weeks Channel Jan 1999

Think Different: A Comparison Of The Critical Thinking Abilities Of Education Majors, Shelly Weeks Channel

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

In an increasingly complex society, the need for people to exercise critical thinking effectively is clearly evident. The institution of education recognizes that its responsibility to teach students to think critically is vital in order for them to negotiate decisions humanely and intelligently in an ever-changing world; Hundreds of reports from various committees and researchers along with such insidious incidents as the rise in murderous assaults on children inside school buildings, such as the massacre in Littleton, Colorado, attest to the fact that schools fail to teach students to evaluate social life critically. While educators advocate critical thinking, teacher education …

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The Effects Of Computerized Instruction In Intermediate Algebra, Cynthia Lynn Glickman Jan 1999

The Effects Of Computerized Instruction In Intermediate Algebra, Cynthia Lynn Glickman

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This study was designed to measure the effects of a reform oriented computer assisted instructional environment R-CAI on community college students' procedural skill acquisition and conceptual understanDing Also examined were the effects of a computerized instructional environment on students' attitudes toward mathematics; The R-CAI involved the use of Prentice Hall's Interactive Mathematics with lessons created to provide opportunities for students to learn within "real world" contexts. Using these activities, students collected information, analyzed data and applied mathematical concepts; After controlling for initial differences, it was concluded that students taught by the R-CAI environment significantly outperformed students taught by the Traditional …

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The Impact Of Interracial Contact On Stereotypical Perceptions, Joann Watts Debose Jan 1999

The Impact Of Interracial Contact On Stereotypical Perceptions, Joann Watts Debose

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Situations involving interracial contact and their impact on the reduction of racist attitudes among whites in America will be examined using the contact theory of prejudice. This perspective maintains that evidence for the continued "social distance" between blacks and whites can be quantified in measures of workplace contact. Racial perceptions in schools, churches and neighborhoods provide additional evidence for the contact theory of race relations. Stereotypic perceptions develop when people are unable or unwilling to obtain all the information needed to make accurate judgments about people or situations. Often, the absence of the "total picture" encourages people to fill in …

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Dimension Reduction Of Image And Audio Space, Blaine Lee Hagstrom Jan 1999

Dimension Reduction Of Image And Audio Space, Blaine Lee Hagstrom

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The reduction of data necessary for storage or transmission is a desirable goal in the digital video and audio domain. Compression schemes strive to reduce the amount of storage space or bandwidth necessary to keep or move the data. Data reduction can be accomplished so that visually or audibly unnecessary data is removed or recoded thus aiding the compression phase of the data processing. The characterization and identification of data that can be successfully removed or reduced is the purpose of this work. New philosophy, theory and methods for data processing are presented towards the goal of data reduction. The …

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Reproductive And Growth Responses Of Mojave Desert Plants To A Changing Climate, Travis E Huxman Jan 1999

Reproductive And Growth Responses Of Mojave Desert Plants To A Changing Climate, Travis E Huxman

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Global change may impact terrestrial ecosystems through effects on the regenerative capacities of plants. Changes in energy allocation to reproduction, as a result of increasing CO2, changing temperature or precipitation, could shift the ecological and evolutionary factors that control plant distributions and species interactions. These changes in energy allocation to reproduction are manifested as seed number, viability and mass change. We conducted a meta-analysis of results from a number of different elevated CO2 experiments with the goal of determining patterns of reproductive response across a large number of species and functional types. In addition, we performed a number of experimental …

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Building Community In A Virtual Classroom: Construction Of Classroom Culture In A Postsecondary Distance Education Class, Virginia Anne Bielman Jan 1999

Building Community In A Virtual Classroom: Construction Of Classroom Culture In A Postsecondary Distance Education Class, Virginia Anne Bielman

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate how a community was constructed in a postsecondary distance education class that relied only on computer-mediated communications. The use of a social constructionist perspective with Interactional Ethnography provided a theoretical and methodological means to make visible how the actions and interactions of the class members constructed their community. This study was built on and expanded qualitative research in K--12 traditional classrooms, which provided a lens with which to view the processes that shaped on-line community development. Past research has used ethnography and discourse analysis to investigate how traditional classroom participants' interactions over …

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Terrorism And Political Policy: Crisis And *Policy Making Indicators In The Media During Legislative Action, James David Ballard Jan 1999

Terrorism And Political Policy: Crisis And *Policy Making Indicators In The Media During Legislative Action, James David Ballard

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This study tested three political sociology policy making theories with relation to the media coverage of an act of political violence and the affiliated policy formation processes related to this event. To test the three theories, a case study was conducted on the bombing of the Alfred Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995 and the subsequent policy enacted under the auspices of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDP). The case analysis focused on several preexisting policy debates, the media coverage immediately following the bombing, and subsequent policy discussions leading to the passage of the …

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Town And Hinterland: Kingman And Mohave County, Arizona, 1860--1940, Diana Roock Dever Jan 1999

Town And Hinterland: Kingman And Mohave County, Arizona, 1860--1940, Diana Roock Dever

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This work examines the complex socioeconomic relationship between a northwestern Arizona town and its hinterland from 1860--1940. During this time, Mohave County, Arizona experiences the impact of three industries: mining, ranching, and railroaDing After 1882, mining boomtowns in the hinterland stimulate the growth of the Kingman railsiding, making it the only viable transshipment point in the county. The town's development relies on economic activities within its hinterland, national trends, and the character of its hardworking inhabitants, including its diverse racial and ethnic groups. Separate demographic profiles from 1900--1940 of Kingman and Mohave County's composition demonstrate changes that occur. Following the …

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Probationary Periods- Promoting Excellence Or Legel Loophole?, Daryl R. Privott Jan 1999

Probationary Periods- Promoting Excellence Or Legel Loophole?, Daryl R. Privott

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study, prepared for the Department of Public Administration, will evaluate the use and perceived effectiveness of probationary periods within the State of Nevada government. The probationary period is widely used throughout the private and public sectors; however very little systematic data has been collected on this topic. The probationary period can be valued as the most valid determinant of job performance and seen as the last step in the selection process or it can be a tool to deny first amendment rights. The effective use of probationary periods should be of importance to private and public agencies, managers, and …

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