Digital Commons Network^™

Cost Recovery Plans: Are They Being Used As A Financial Planning Tool In Parks And Recreation Departments?, Billie M. Bastian

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

For several years tax dollars have gradually diminished, causing parks and recreation managers to become more entrepreneurial in developing financial strategies for delivering high quality and cost efficient recreational services to the citizens. One financial tool, under much discussion, is for parks and recreation managers to establish formal cost recovery plans for their departments. This paper presents the results of a study in which local Nevada governmental parks and recreation departments were surveyed and evaluated to determine if they are using formal cost recovery plans and if cost efficiencies have been improved. The research focused on identifying factors associated with …

Travel Time Study At The Wetlands Park National Preserve, Brandon Bair

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This thesis reports on a study of the residence time of water in the Wetlands Park Nature Preserve in Henderson, Nevada. Rhodamine WT was used in order to test for the travel time of the water from the Monson Channel inflow to the Nature Preserve outflow to the Las Vegas Wash. The initial hypothesis was that the water would stay in the system for approximately 8 days. Residence time was tested using an ISCO sampling machine along with a Sequoia-Turner model 450 fluorimeter to test for the fluoresce of the dye in the water. All samples collected were taken immediately …

Consumptive Water Use At The Mirage Hotel And The Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino In Las Vegas, Nevada, Johann A. Feller

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Las Vegas Valley is one of the driest regions in the southwest United States. Due to limited water supplies from the Colorado River, rainfall, and groundwater sources, the water requirements of the valley’s growing population is slated to surpass the current available water supply. The purpose of this comparative study is to quantify the amount of consumptive water used at a major Las Vegas resort/casino in one year. This, being of importance, because of the resort/casino industry’s role as one of the largest, most visible, and most resource intensive industries in the Las Vegas valley. The goal of this …

Risk Of Radiation Exposure From The Transportation Of High-Level Nuclear Waste, Lawrence Banks

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Transportation of high-level nuclear waste poses a potential risk of exposure from radiation to people of Las Vegas and the surrounding environment. 77,000 metric tons of waste is scheduled to start arriving at Yucca Mountain in 2010. For 24 years legal weight trucks will transport high-level nuclear waste through 109 cities with populations over 100,000. The population of Las Vegas is over 400,000 people. In all, legal weight trucks will cross 43 states traveling millions of highway miles (see appendix B). The U. S. Department of Energy estimates expected radiological risk from accidents would be no higher than 0.003 latent …

The 100th Meridian Initiative In Nevada: Assessing The Westward Movement Of The Zebra Mussel To The Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Megan Mccoy

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Zebra mussels, Dreissena polymorpha, are a concern for all bodies of water in North America. East of the 100th Meridian, zebra mussels have infested the waters and dramatically changed the natural ecosystems. The US Fish and Wildlife Services set up the 100th Meridian Initiative project to monitor the boat traffic to and from infested and non-infested waters of the United States and Canada. Surveys were conducted from October 19, 2002 through March 31, 2003, focusing specifically on the Lake Mead National Recreation Area (LMNRA) for the scope of this thesis. This study addresses the movement of trailers, boats, and other …

An Analysis Of Apartment Complex Recycling In Clark County, Nevada, Noriko Eguchi

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this study is to analyze recycling opportunities for people living in apartments and recommend solutions to improve apartment complex recycling programs in Clark County, Nevada. There are two hypotheses for this problem. First, there is not enough space to put recycling containers in some apartment complex dumpster enclosures. Second, there are several obstacles to providing recycling for complex managers. There are two methods involved in testing these hypotheses. Unincorporated Clark County was selected for the study area. The size of dumpster enclosures was measured in 73 apartment complexes out of 240 complexes which do not recycle in …

Water Quality Remediation At The Abandoned Jones-Kincaid Mine Site, Pyramid Mining District, Washoe County, Nevada, Si-Ok Choi

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the cost and efficiency of four remediation methods, natural attenuation, permeable reactive barriers, pump and treat systems, and bioremediation, and to determine the best suitable method for preventing further environmental degradation from the abandoned Jones-Kincaid Mine (JKM), located within the Pyramid Mining District, Washoe County, Nevada.

Problems from abandoned mine sites may be divided into four types: water quality, public safety, economic concerns, and scenic interests. The foremost problem is the effect of pollution on water quality. Acid run-off and precipitation may be spread hundreds of miles and influence drinking water sources …

Nevada "Nurselessness": An Acute Or Chronic Condition? An Examination Of The Etiology And Possible Treatment Alternatives, Jeanine Warren-Newmon

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Data released by the Department of Health and Human Services in February, 2001, revealed that Nevada has the lowest number of registered nurses per 100,000 population in the nation. The state’s population is growing faster than the nursing programs are currently able to produce new graduates. Current predictions are that the existing nursing shortage will become more severe and have a longer duration than has ever before been experienced. While there may not be one single identifiable causative factor, the aging nursing workforce, low unemployment, and the universal nature of the shortage magnify the problem. This paper focuses on the …

Trail Conditions And Preferences From A Mountain Bike Users Perspective In Cottonwood Valley, Jeff Frampton

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to gather baseline data and user preferences from a mountain bike user’s perspective about the current condition of the multiple use trails in Cottonwood Valley. Cottonwood Valley is an area located at the southern tip of the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. Multiple use includes hiking, biking and horseback riding and does not include motorized vehicles. The area was set aside for conservation by an act of Congress because of the inherent value that it represents.

Because the public is allowed to access and use the trails in the area, there has been …

Late Holocene Hydrologic And Climatic Variability In The Walker Lake Basin, Nevada And California, Fasong Yuan

Geology Theses and Dissertations

Oxygen and carbon isotopic measurements of the total inorganic carbon (TIC) fraction of sediments from Walker Lake (Nevada, USA) were completed at a decadal-scale resolution spanning the last ∼3000 years. On the basis of radiocarbon dating of the total organic fraction of cored sediments, the late Holocene isotope record recorded a relatively dry climate in Period LH-1 (1000 BC to AD 800), a relatively wet climate punctuated by a few severe droughts in Period LH-2 (AD 800 to 1900), and an anthropogenical perturbation era (L14-h: 1900–2000). Relative high accumulation rates in Period LH-2 (AD 800 to 1900) provided detailed information …

Assessment Of Potential Environmental Impacts Of Nature-Based Tours Originating Within Clark County, Nevada, Beth Domowicz

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this thesis was to assess the potential magnitude of negative environmental damage of nature-based tours originating in Clark County, Nevada. An ordinal ranking system was used for assessment of five variables. These variables were resource use, noise pollution, soil degradation, vegetation degradation, and wildlife disturbance. There were two proposed answers. The first was that as distance increased, negative tour impact would increase. This was not supported, since tours had high impacts for destinations that were close by and far away. The second was that most tours were not causing high damage to the environment. This hypothesis was …

A Motivational Analysis Of Chinese Tourists To The United States: Push And Pull Motivations Of Travel To Las Vegas, Fanghong Jiao

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to analyze the motivational push and pull factors of Chinese tourists to Las Vegas. A self-completed survey was conducted among Chinese tourists, who traveled to Las Vegas with the service of America Asia Travel Center Inc. The surveyed Chinese tourists rated the motivational items; Factor analysis was applied in this study. The most important motivational push factors were entertainment, knowledge seeking, and variety seeking; and the most important pull factors were hedonism, image and natural conditions, convenience, and cleanliness. The derived push and pull factors were compared to the previous studies. Suggestions for future …

The Uses And Gratifications Of The World Wide Web At The University Of Nevada-Las Vegas, Peter P Testa

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This study extends the uses and gratifications theory to the World Wide Web. Studies like these examine what the Web is used for, and what needs are gratified by using the Web. One hundred thirty college students at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas were surveyed on media and Web usage and gratifications. This study introduces the factors of self-perception of residency and of traditional vs. non-traditional student as influences on Web usage and gratifications for college students; Loneliness was deemed a significant factor for students who did not consider themselves Las Vegas residents. Students who do not consider themselves to …

The Distribution Of Phosphorus In The Nature Preserve At The Clark County Wetlands Park In Las Vegas, Nevada, Rosangela Gomes Brazao

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The main objective of this thesis was to investigate the distribution of phosphorus among three different compartments of the Upper Pond at the Nature Preserve at the Clark County Wetlands Park in Las Vegas, NV: influent and effluent water, sediments, and plants. Samples were collected from September 2002 to January of 2003 and analyzed for phosphorus content. Results showed that the Upper Pond removed 55% of the ortho phosphate (OP) and 39% of the total phosphorus (TP) loadings during the study period. Sediment results showed that the East Outflow concentrated the most P (644.85 +/- 120.26 mg P Kg-1), followed …

Design-Build Method Viewed By Public Agencies In Southern Nevada Compared To Arizona And Utah, Jose W Oliveira

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Area is the fastest growing large urban area in the United States. Between 1990 and 2000, the population expanded 83.3 percent. To meet the growing population in the Las Vegas Valley, local agencies struggle to construct public facilities such as community centers, schools, municipal buildings and transportation facilities. The most common construction contracting method being used by local agencies consists of local municipalities hiring a design professional, usually an architect or engineer, under one contract, and then bidding the construction services out to a general contractor; An innovative form of construction contracting now exist, where only …

Labor Violations And Discrimination In The Clark County Outcall Entertainment Industry, Candice Michelle Seppa Arroyo

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Researchers who insist that sexual exploitation is intrinsic to sex work have deflected attention from two key issues facing sex workers: labor violations and prejudice. The purpose of this study is to investigate unethical labor practices and institutional sexism, racism, and classism in the Clark County outcall entertainment ("escort") industry. To analyze these issues from a sex radical feminist perspective, I spent 820 hours engaged in covert participant observation while working as an appointment setter at two major outcall entertainment agencies in Clark County; Much of the abuse that outcall entertainers in Las Vegas encounter could be eliminated by enforcing …

The Economic Impact Of The Writers-In-The-Schools Program At Unlv: 2003, Jennifer Stikich

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

In 2002, the College of Liberal Arts received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the International Institute for Modern Letters, and Park Place Entertainment to bring the Writers-in-the-Schools program to the University of Las Vegas. In this paper, I employ surveys to determine the economic impact of the WITS program in the Las Vegas community. Four nationally recognized writers conducted public readings at UNLV, and those that attended these events were the subject of this study. Through employing the logit and probit methods of estimation in a theoretical Random Utility Model, the mean willingness to pay to attend …

Predictive Modeling Of Soluble Sulfate Ion Concentration In The Las Vegas Valley, Werner K Hellmer

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This study investigates the process of identifying soluble sulfate ion concentrations in the Las Vegas Valley. Data utilized in this study were obtained from Clark County Department of Development Services records. Once collected, the data were reviewed and analyzed with traditional non-spatial statistics and spatial-based geostatistical modeling. This study was undertaken in an effort to identify factors that may correlate with soluble sulfate ion concentrations and to determine the feasibility of producing a predictive model capable of estimating soluble sulfate ion concentrations within the Las Vegas Valley; The study showed that relief, spatial location, soil grain size classification and Clark …

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. …

Measurement Of Inorganic Arsenic And Chromium Species In Southern Nevada Groundwater Using Ion Chromatography-Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry, Julie A Bertoia

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Two analytical methods employing an ion chromatograph-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer were used to separate inorganic arsenite from arsenate and trivalent from hexavalent chromium in southern Nevada groundwater. Method detection limits were found to be 0.011 ppb and 0.005 ppb for arsenite and arsenate respectively, and 0.015 ppb and 0.02 ppb for trivalent and hexavalent chromium respectively. Following an investigation of the stability of the oxidation states of arsenic and chromium in aqueous solution with time, the following procedures were adopted. Samples collected in the field for arsenic were filtered, stored at 4°C, and analyzed within 7 days; and those …

Exploring Nevada's Past And Present: Archaeology Education And Nevada Public Schools, Victoria L Fisher

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

State mandated education concerning the first Nevadans begins in the fourth grade. A series of content standards, or guidelines which identify what students should know and be able to do by the end of each grade, has been developed by the state to assist teachers in meeting this requirement. Though Native Americans are covered in roughly a third of the content standards, there are very few materials available to meet these standards. While there are many materials that attempt to teach the "prehistory" of native Nevada, there are few that are designed to meet the standards that the state has …

Silicification Across The Betze-Post Carlin-Type Gold Deposit: Clues To Ore Fluid Properties And Sources, Northern Carlin Trend, Nevada, Jared D Lubben

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Ore fluid properties and sources at the Betze-Post deposit, the largest Carlin-type gold system in the world (∼49 million ounces Au), are not well understood. To improve knowledge of ore fluids, the geochemical, textural, and fluid inclusion characteristics of ore, late-ore, and post-ore quartz associated with Au-bearing pyrite were determined. Various stages of quartz were identified by integrating petrographic, fluid inclusion, oxygen isotope, cathodoluminescence studies, and spatially associated Au-bearing pyrite. Ore stage jasperoid displays CL-dark luminescence and was overgrown by late-ore-stage CL-dark drusy quartz. Multiple generations of post-ore drusy quartz overgrow ore and late-ore quartz and exhibit CL-bright and CL-multiple …

Where Sin Abounds: A Religious History Of Las Vegas, Stanley Allen Steward

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Las Vegas has long been stigmatized with the label of "Sin City." While it is not difficult to understand how this image of Las Vegas came about, the power of this stereotype has masked one of the most interesting aspects of the local culture. It is a common assumption of many outsiders that Las Vegas is a spiritual wasteland devoid of any significant religious community and bereft of meaningful values or culture. But this is not the case. Las Vegas has a large, healthy, and expanding religious community. Within the religious milieu, there is a strong and rapidly expanding pentecostal …

A Study Of Post-Tenure Review *Policies Among Nevada Community Colleges And The Peer Institutions Of Ccsn, Thomas M Peacock

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This study carries forward the research of post-tenure review in selected community colleges. Administrators, faculty leadership, and faculty from the four (4) community colleges in Nevada and the seven (7) peer institutions of the Community College of Southern Nevada (CCSN) participated in this research; A descriptive survey instrument was used that was formatted using Likert-type items. The participants were asked to rate the degree to which they agreed or disagreed with the 27 statements; Statements 1--15 were designed to reflect the participant perceptions on how their institutions post-tenure review procedures comported with the AAUP's MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR GOOD PRACTICES IF …

An Analysis Of The Equity Of Nevada's Public School Funding System, Robert Alan Bennett

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

There has not been an equity study of the public school funding distribution system, in the State of Nevada, since its inception in 1967. The equity analysis of the Nevada State funding system utilizes the Berne and Stiefel conceptual framework and includes commonly used statistical measures of equity. The study provides an overview of public school finance equity and litigation in the United States. A brief overview of state equity studies is provided to facilitate comparison of state funding systems with Nevada's. A brief history of the development of school finance within the State of Nevada is provided. Equity analyses …

Language In Las Vegas: Esl Training Programs In Las Vegas Casino Hotels, Craig Hamilton Hermann

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The study was focused on ESL training for employees within the Casino hotel industry in Las Vegas, Nevada. The overall purpose of the study was to explore the degree to which ESL training programs were being implemented within and/or in use by the casino hotel industry in Las Vegas. While the a review of the literature had suggested that ESL efforts were being employed by the industry, little was known as to overall parameters of the efforts being undertaken with respect to the size, content, and modes of delivery. Therefore, the research questions underlying the study were as follows: (1) …

Late Quaternary Glacial And Periglacial Environments, Snake Range, Nevada, John G Van Hoesen

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Limited research has been conducted on the paleoclimatic significance of glacial and periglacial features in the Great Basin. Glacial features in the range were first recognized and described by early explorers (Gilbert, 1875; Simpson; 1876 and Russell, 1884) and subsequent authors have continued to substantiate and elaborate on earlier reports (Heald, 1956; Kramer, 1962; Currey, 1969; Peigat, 1980; Osborn and Bevis, 2001). Since this early reconnaissance work, few studies have focused on the Late Quaternary evolution and paleoclimatic implications of glacial and periglacial landforms in the Great Basin (Wayne, 1983; Osborn, 1989; Bevis, 1995; and Osborn and Bevis, 2001). Wayne …