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Gardasil Vaccine Trends Within Nevada, California, And The U.S.: A Comparative Study, Karen S. Gutierrez

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Despite decreasing incidence in cervical cancer in the U.S., there continues to be an increase in public health concern for cervical cancer worldwide. Recent studies report that individuals are disproportionately affected based on region, sex, and race. Additionally, the human papillomavirus (HPV) attributable cancers may be reduced between 70% and 90% through the universal use of HPV-vaccines. In order to expand current knowledge and implement intervention programs in Nevada, it is critical to examine the associations among the Gardasil vaccine, cervical cancer screening, and adverse events following immunization as well as to understand the different socio-demographic subgroups affected. To our …

From Access To Excess: Agribusiness, Federal Water Programs, And The Historical Roots Of The California Water Crisis, Tracy Marie Neblina

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this paper is to show the link between water use, land consolidation, agribusinesses, and the water crisis that California began to experience in 2011. In order to better understand the relationship between the growth of agribusiness in the state and the evolution of water policy, this paper explores the historical context of land policy, the growth of farming in the San Joaquin Valley, and the development of federally funded water projects in the Central Valley. Years of expanding farmland and use of surface and underground water with limited regulation played an important role in exacerbating California’s water …

Creating The Black California Dream: Virna Canson And The Black Freedom Struggle In The Golden State’S Capital, 1940-1988, Kendra M. Gage

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation examines the black struggle for racial equality in the Golden State’s capital from 1940-1988 and an integral leader of the movement, Virna Canson. Canson fought for nearly fifty years to dismantle discriminatory practices in housing, education, employment and worked to protect consumers. Her lifetime of activism reveals a different set of key issues people focused on at the grassroots level and shows how the fight for freedom in California differed from the South because the state’s discriminatory practices were harder to pinpoint. Her work and the larger black community’s activism in Sacramento also reveals how the black freedom …

Ichnology And Paleoecology Of The Jurassic Aztec Sandstone, Heather Marie Stoller

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In this study I describe and interpret tracks and trackways of the Jurassic Aztec Sandstone of southern Nevada and southern California. This study involved mapping of all known tracks and trackways, including foot length, stride length, and trackway width. Photogrammetric data, collected by Bureau of Land Management scientists, were utilized for several trackways in Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.

More than three hundred tracks belonging to five ichnotaxa were documented within the Aztec Sandstone, including about 165 tridactylGrallator, 250 tetradactyl (four-toed)Brasilichniumtracks, and 7 arthropod trackways ofOctopodichnusandPaleohelcura. Four of the five ichnotaxa were not previously reported from the Aztec Sandstone. …

Paleoecology Of Late Pleistocene Megaherbivores: Stable Isotope Reconstruction Of Environment, Climate, And Response, Aubrey Mae Bonde

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Late Pleistocene megaherbivore communities of the Pacific and Mountain West states of California and Nevada are under-analyzed in regard to ecological function (diet, mobility, niche partitioning, and range of ecological tolerance). Stable isotope analysis is a powerful tool that is known to recover primary paleodiet and paleoenvironmental information from biogenic materials, such as enamel and dentin. This dissertation explores the use of carbon and oxygen stable isotopes in Late Pleistocene (40-10 Ka) megaherbivore teeth to gain a better understanding of inter- and intra-specific behavior and reconstruct Late Pleistocene ecosystems of California and Nevada. Radiocarbon dates exist for most of the …

Paleoseismic Study Of The Stewart Valley And Northern Pahrump Segments Of The Stateline Fault System, Nevada, Jonathan Carter

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Stateline fault system (SFS) is a ~200 km long zone of dextral faults running NW along the NV/CA border from Primm, Nevada to Amargosa Valley in the western Central Basin and Range province (CBR). Because of size and proximity, the SFS poses a hazard to the 2.5 million people, most of who live within 10 km, in Pahrump, Nevada and within 40 km, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The goals of this thesis are to (1) understand if the SFS is accommodating faulting slip change in the CBR; (2) test the along strike continuity of the SFS in Pahrump and …

Die Deutschen In Kalifornien: Germans In Urban California, 1850-1860, Carole Cosgrove Terry

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

German immigrants came to San Francisco, Sacramento and Marysville, urban northern California, seeking a better life than they had in the Germanic states of central Europe. Some came directly from Germany but some made an intermediate stop during their journey in Europe or the United States. In all three cities, they created an ethnic community where they practiced the social, economic and cultural traditions from their homeland,including Vereinswesen (associational life) and Gemutlichkeit (celebration of the joy of life), led by their ethnically based association, the Turnverein. They interacted with the main steam Anglo-Americans through associations and celebratory events to create …

The Viability And Necessity Of Desertxpress And The Future Of Las Vegas, Charles Alexander Wellington

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Purpose

The purpose of this professional paper is to determine the effects of the DesertXpress, an interstate high-speed rail which will connect Las Vegas, NV and Southern California and will provide critical information as to the viability and economic strength that the high-speed rail will bring to the region.

Weapons Labs And City Growth: Livermore And Albuquerque, 1945-1975, Layne Rochelle Karafantis

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This thesis traces the transformation of two cities in the American West: Albuquerque, a medium-sized metropolitan area in the generally low-population state of New Mexico, and Livermore, California, a relatively small town on the fringe of the massive San Francisco Bay Area metropolis. The federal government built nuclear weapons labs in both places after World War II, and as a result, they encountered phenomenal growth. This is not surprising, as authors such as Peter Hall and Ann Markusen have argued that federal installations in the postwar years affected the economies of many western cities. However, this thesis asserts that rural …

Petrogenesis Of The Greenwater Range: Comparison To The Crater Flat Volcanic Field And Implications For Hazard Assessment, Ashley Kaye Tibbetts

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Pliocene basalts of the Greenwater Range, California erupted from 24 volcanic vents now represented by volcanic plugs, craters and scoria mounds. Basaltic magmas originated in the asthenospheric mantle, but show evidence of a lithospheric component. Depths and temperatures of melting calculated using a silica activity geobarometer are 54.3–89.6 km and 1367-1435oC, placing melting in the asthenosphere. The preferred petrogenetic model involves melting of lithospheric mantle thermally and mechanically, but not chemically, converted to asthenospheric mantle. Melting depths correspond to low velocity zones in the mantle as revealed in seismic profiles. Chemical and lithologic similarities between basalt in the Greenwater Range …

Relationships Between The Groundwaters Of Ash Meadows, Death Valley, Pahranagat Valley And The Nevada Test Site Based On Statistical Analysis And Modeling Of Trace Element Data, Sara Michelle Cox

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Relationships between the groundwaters of the Nevada Test Site, Ash Meadows, Pahranagat, and Death Valley have been studied by many people over many years. Using hydrogeochemical data from these areas (sampled and analyzed by the Harry Reid Center for Environmental Studies) hydrologic subbasins were classified on the basis of trace element concentrations and compare these to previous classification systems. In addition, previously suggested flow relationships were examined on the basis of trace element concentrations, in particular those elements which are thought to behave conservatively in oxidizing environments. These efforts were made with the aid of statistical analyses such as principal …

Parametric Study Of Stimulus-Response Behavior Incorporating Vehicle Heterogeneity In Car-Following Models, Saidi Siuhi

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The objective of this study was to develop a family of car-following models that address the shortcomings of car-following models developed by General Motors (GM) in the 1950s. The developed models consist of separate models for acceleration, deceleration, and steady-state responses for congested freeway traffic conditions. The study calibrated the models using individual vehicle trajectory data collected on a segment of Interstate 101 in Los Angeles, California. Furthermore, the study validated the models using individual vehicle trajectory data collected on a segment of Interstate 80 in Emeryville, California. The study used nonlinear regression with robust standard errors to estimate the …

A Study Of California Community College Student Retention And Persistence With Extended Opportunity Programs And Services (Eop&S), Leonard Marvin Crawford

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This research analyzed a select number of Extended Opportunities Programs and Services (EOP&S) within the California Community College system. Student perceptions and self reported attitudes were obtained through survey techniques from a select number of EOP&S programs based upon persistence trends of students from a recent four-year period. More specifically, these student trends were analyzed at three different levels of persistence, i.e., highest, median, and lowest. The respective groupings were surveyed to determine qualitative elements of EOP&S program services students associate with their persistence; The findings basically indicate that the consistent qualitative elements of programs services that EOP&S students associate …

Reinventing Downtown San Diego: A Spatial And Cultural Analysis Of The Gaslamp Quarter And Horton Plaza, Jordan Chase Ervin

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This research project explores issues of historic preservation, gentrification, and the contention over public space and culture. More specifically, it analyzes these elements within the setting of the historic Gaslamp Quarter and Horton Plaza in downtown San Diego. By tracing their development and conception from the early 1970s into the twenty-first century, this research reveals the different types of images and cultures that city leaders and developers created within the built environment. More importantly, the project sheds light upon how different social groups understood, experienced, and responded to the transformation of these spaces. This type of analysis is crucial for …

Fish Traps On Ancient Shores, Eric Stephen White

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Archaeological investigations associated with the Lake Cahuilla fish traps have been restricted due to the lack of excavation and experimentation. This thesis addresses a new line of researches, which incorporates not only experimentation and excavation, but also the combination of fish trap design and fish behavior, to more fully explain the working mechanics of ancient fish traps. Not only are these issues examined, but other natural phenomenon, that affect the archaeological record, and its understanding are examined. This thesis relies heavily on biology for its conclusions.

Vigilante Justice And Civic Development In 1850s San Francisco, Nancy S Papin

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The years between the American Revolution and the Civil War witnessed the prevalence of public disorder and social violence, especially in the expanding American West. In many instances, crowds took the law into their own hands and dealt summary vengeance on suspected criminals. This study delves into the political and legal climate of San Francisco in the 1850s to examine perhaps the most famous episodes of vigilantism in antebellum America; the San Francisco Vigilante Committees of 1851 and 1856. Through a careful contextualization and comparison of these committees, the thesis argues that the leaders of the respective committees believed that …

The Paleotectonic Significance Of The Central Metamorphic Terrane, Northern California, Wendy M Barrow Johnson

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The Central Metamorphic terrane (CMt) is a fault-bounded package of metabasites that underlies the Eastern Klamath terrane along the Trinity fault. Interpretation of the CMt as the lower oceanic plate of a Silurian-Devonian intraoceanic subduction zone is a basic tenet of paleotectonic models for the Eastern Klamath province. Trace element data confirm the NMORB-like composition of CMt metabasite protoliths. Newly discovered relict textures and amphibole compositions, however, suggest significantly greater subduction burial and subsequent decompressional history during exhumation for CMt metabasites. New thermobarometry yields upper P-T estimates of ∼600°C and >1.5GPa, consistent with eclogite facies. Predominate mineral assemblages and metamorphic …

Political Factionalism Among The Mojave Indians, 1826--1875, Melinda A Oesterman

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The Fort Mojave Indians of California and Mohave Indians of Arizona were once united on their aboriginal territory. Their lifestyle was impacted by interaction with the Spanish, fur trappers, military explorers and emigrant parties; Spanish interaction with the Mojave in the 1600s resulted in little change. The fur trappers of the 1820s generally lacked cultural awareness and respect of Mojave resources. Military expeditions along the 35th parallel into Mojave territory were generally well received and aided by some Mojave, while other Mojave were cautious of the "foreign invaders." Emigrant parties soon followed, causing alarm among the Mojave as they believed …

Reliability Generalization Of The California Psychological Inventory, Helen Zaikina

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The present study examined the reliability of the scores of the California Psychological Inventory (CPI). The reported reliability coefficients were located via PsycInfo and recorded into a data set. A multiple regression analysis was performed on the coefficients for the Socialization scale as well as on the three factors of the CPI. No predictors were found to be significant. The test retest reliabilities were significantly higher than the internal consistency reliabilities across all scale factors. A lack of significant results may be explained by the fact that the CPI is a multi-subscale instrument and not all of the scales are …

New College Formation: A Case Study Comparing Five Recently Opened State Colleges, John Richards Mundy

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This policy analysis reviewed the needs assessment process for the formation of five recently opened and publicly-supported state colleges. The analysis revealed how public policy, higher education goals and objectives, and statewide resources and politics become engaged and intertwined in the creation of a new public middle-tier state college. This comparative case study examined the needs assessment process used in the creation of five recently opened colleges for effectiveness: CSU Monterrey Bay, CSU Channel Islands, Central Oregon University, Florida Gulf Coast University and Nevada State College HenderSon The analysis focused on four principal dimensions taken from the extant literature relevant …

The Potential Impact Of The Medieval Climatic Anomaly On Human Populations In The Western Mojave Desert, Jill Kathleen Gardner

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, a model was proposed for changing settlement and subsistence patterns in the western Mojave Desert. The model posits that environmental fluctuations over the last 4,000 years were potential causal mechanisms for culture change in this region. One of these fluctuations was the environmental episode known as the Medieval Climatic Anomaly (MCA), a series of droughts that took place between about 1,200 and 650 B.P. The intent of this study was to determine whether apparent culture changes that began about 1,200 years ago in the western Mojave Desert are associated with the MCA. To …

Gis Analysis Of The Pre And Post-Diversion Water Balances In Owens Valley, California, Anna Corinne Draa

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Owens Valley, California is located at the western border of both the Basin and Range and Great Basin Provinces. The valley is hydrologically closed; the only outflow for ground and surface waters is evaporation to the atmosphere. Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) began diverting water from Owens Valley in 1913 and has steadily increased the amount of water removed from the valley since then; LADWP has always assumed that the hydrologic system as it existed in 1913 was in equilibrium with modern climate. This study develops a geographical information systems (GIS) based model of Owens Valley to …

Geochemical Interpretation On Groundwater Flow In The Southern Great Basin, Jeremy Edward Koonce

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The study of geochemical processes and integrated water flow can help identify groundwater sources and improve predictions of contaminant fate and transport in groundwater systems. Understanding groundwater flow paths in and around the Nevada Test Site (NTS) is important due to the possible migration of contaminated groundwater to the neighboring communities; Harry Reid Center collected a total of 118 samples from the NTS and surrounding area (e.g., Oasis Valley, Ash Meadows, Death Valley, the Spring Mountains, and Pahranagat Valley) and analyzed for trace elements and major solutes. Cluster analysis and Principal Component Analysis (PCA), along with basic Geographical Information Systems, …

Lower Limb Bone Shape And Structure Among Populations Of Differing Lifestyles: Effects Of Biomechanical Stress And Inferences Of Activity, Michele Marcela Bleuze

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

It is known that activity-related stresses and mechanical loadings affect adult bone morphology. The purpose of this study is to examine how well presumed subsistence-related activities correlate with bone morphology; In addition, this study will investigate the degree to which sex differences can be explained by differences in mechanical loaDing If such differences in expression are apparent between males and females within a population, then it can be speculated that the sexes were participating in different activities---or at least in activities that yielded different mechanical loadings; Although there have been several biomechanical studies that have looked at the relationship between …

Trace Element Geochemistry Of Groundwater Flow Systems In Southern Nevada And Eastern California, Xiaoping Zhou

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The Nevada Test Site (NTS) was used for underground nuclear tests before the 1960's. Yucca Mountain in southern Nevada has been proposed as the site for the first high-level radioactive waste repository in the U.S. Because groundwater is a likely medium for transporting radio-nuclides to the accessible environment, determining the nature and path of groundwater movement through the aquifers at the NTS and Yucca Mountain is a critical task for assessing the risks and the future performance of the repository. In this study, systematic investigations of major ion and trace [mainly rare earth element (REE)] element geochemistry were conducted on …

Analysis Of Jurisprudence Presented In Elk Grove Unified School District V Newdow (2004), David Thomas Smith

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The United States Congress adopted the Pledge of Allegiance into the United States Flag Code in 1942. The majority of states had adopted a school wide daily recitation of the Pledge into their education statutes to fulfill the teaching of civics. In 1954, Congress added the words "under God" to the Pledge. The insertion of those two words was to distinguish the United States as a religious country as opposed to the atheistic beliefs of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The issue becomes whether or not a government lead recitation of the Pledge constitutes a violation of the Establishment …

Garnet-Biotite Thermometry, Garnet-Aluminum Silicate-Silica-Plagioclase Barometry, And Emp Monazite Geochronology Of The Early Proterozoic Ivanpah Mountains, Eastern Mojave Desert, Se California, David Allen Shields

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Metamorphic fabric measurements indicate only one deformational fabric (NNE) is present in the Ivanpah Mountains, indicating that the area experienced one orogenic event during the Early Proterozoic. Peak P-T conditions, using garnet-Al2SiO5-silica-plagioclase barometry and garnet-biotite thermometry, were ∼4.0kb and >700°C, respectively. Peak metamorphic-T's were recorded by the largest garnet studied; Electron Microprobe Analysis on monazite, using U-Th-Pb radioactive decay, suggest metamorphism occurred between 1752 +/- 86 Ma and 1689 +/- 34 Ma, similar to the age of the Yavapai terrane (∼1.70--1.69 Ma). These ages are constrained from six monazite grains included in three large garnets (2250--5000um). Matrix monazite from granitic …

A Benefit-Cost Analysis Of An Interstate Seawater Desalination Plant Shared Between California And Nevada, Mcclain L Peterson

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

According to the Southern Nevada Water Authority (2002), increasing demands for water in southern Nevada will require the importation of additional water resources. The purpose of this thesis was to examine one possible imported resource: an interstate seawater desalination cooperative between entities in California and Nevada. This cooperative would provide a permanent transfer of Colorado River water from California to southern Nevada, in trade for a capital contribution toward California coastal seawater desalination. This study uses a benefit-cost approach as outlined in Dively and Zerbe (1994). Costs of both entities in Nevada and California were calculated and technical feasibility detailed. …

A Model To Understand Population Decline Of The Devil's Hole Pupfish (Cyprinodon Diabolis) And Support Habitat Management Decisions, Yuri V Graves

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

After intensive efforts in the 1970s to stabilize the water level in Devil's Hole, the population of the Devil's Hole Pupfish showed slight but steady increase from the 1970s until the mid-1990s when the population began a steady deCline In this study I developed a system dynamics model to help the Devil's Hole Pupfish Recovery Team understand the recent decline and identify and test potential management strategies and policies to reverse or stop the deCline The model and modeling process was used to identify critical gaps in existing data. Tests simulating pore space manipulation, algae removal and addition of refugia …

From Neglected Waste To Protected Space: An Administrative History Of Mojave National Preserve, Eric Charles Nystrom

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The Mojave National Preserve, a unit of the National Park Service, was created in 1994 in southeastern California. Its 1.6 million acres were used historically for extractive industries such as mining and ranching, and its recent history was shaped by the land's proximity to urban Los Angeles. The preserve was the fruit of a long political battle between environmental activists and conservative opponents, and the park's final administrative form and subsequent management was indelibly altered by the compromises made during the legislative fight. The park's subsequent history, including innovative planning efforts, a 1995 attempt by opponents to eliminate the preserve's …