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Las Vegas Flamigo Hilton/Unlv Environmental Studies Program Environmental Resource Analysis & Optimization Plan, Dennis Nowlin

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

From 1987 through 1992 the Las Vegas Flamingo Hilton instituted resource efficiency improvements in electrical, natural gas, water and materials consumption. In 1992, the Flamingo Hilton commissioned the University of Nevada Las Vegas Environmental Studies Department to analyze and quantify the improvements made by The Flamingo Hilton and investigate the potential for further improvements.

Historical billing data from the periods 1987 - 1992 were used to analyze past and present (1992) electric, natural gas and water consumption. Materials disposal data was only available for a ten month period in 1992. Pollutant emissions data were supplied by Nevada Power Company.

The …

A Comparative Analysis Of Viable Solar Thermal Technologies For Solar Field Development And Commercialization, Sean M. Crawford

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Diminishing fossil fuels and concerns about the quality of the environment has lead the recent drive to establish a commercialized solar field in Southern Nevada. The competing solar thermal technologies for the Solar Enterprise Zone (SEZ) are Parabolic Dish-Stirling, Central Receiver Power Towers, and Parabolic Trough Systems. It is important to compare the technologies based on the guidelines set by the Corporation for Solar Technology and Renewable Resources. The variables weighted are solar conversion performances, initial capital investment, operation and maintenance costs, water and land use, and electricity production costs. All technologies have been proven to viable power sources and …

An Analysis Of Remediation Alternatives In An Attempt To Establish An Effective Hydrocarbon-Contaminated Soils Remediation Program At The Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project (Ymp), Marc A. Gonzales

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

An analyses, of six (6) soil remediation alternatives was completed in attempt to establish an effective hydrocarbon-contaminated soils remediation program at the Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Program (YMP). The remediation alternatives analyzed included: no remediation, on-site incineration, off-site incineration, in-situ .bioremediation, ex-situ bioremediation, and excavation and disposal. Variables considered in the evaluation process included cost of contaminated soil transportation, treatment costs, future liability, and success of remediating the contaminated soils to below regulatory thresholds. The analysis concluded in the recommendation of an on-site ex-situ bioremediation treatment facility (BTF) to remediate hydrocarbon-contaminated soils at the YMP. The selection was based on …

An Experimental Technique In Lowering Total Dissolved Solids In Wastewater, Aaron Crotts

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

An experimental method for lowering total dissolved solids in wastewater. This thesis project has been undertaken by Aaron Crotts in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies. The problem undertaken in this thesis is to apply an experimental technique in wastewater treatment in hopes of reducing the total dissolved solids. Total dissolved solids consist of various dissolved ions in water such as calcium, magnesium, sulfur and sodium. In looking at one industry in particular a local Ice Cream manufacture, the problem with total dissolved solids is evident because of their manufacturing process, an …

A Recent Application Of The Saxe-Binford Hypothesis In Establishing Social Persona, Barbara Ann Holz

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

An excavation and analysis of an abandoned cemetery located in Las Vegas, Nevada was used to test the Saxe-Binford hypothesis regarding social persona. A total of 128 individuals (117 nonveterans and 11 veterans) were disinterred. These remains were in various different states of decomposition, two different burial types (casket and copper box), three different burial locations, and age ranges between fetal and elderly adult (90s); According to the Saxe-Binford hypothesis certain mortuary attributes should reflect social information. Attributes studied were burial location, burial type (coffin type, urn), headstone type, and associated grave goods. The boundaries of the cemetery sections, burial …

Public Opinion And The Deconsolidation Of The Clark County School District, Matthew Michael Lusk

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Without question, the Clark County School District, centered in Las Vegas, Nevada, has experienced a pattern of tremendous growth over the last decade. During that period, dozens of new schools have been built to alleviate the overcrowded conditions, with many more being needed as the population continues to expand. According to the literature, however, bigger school districts do not always mean better educated students, and the Clark County School District consequently has had to contend with a growing number of vocal community members concerned about its size and the perceived problems that accompany it; In light of these facts, a …

Avian Habitat Use In Southern Nevada Riparian Areas With Varying Amounts Of Tamarix Ramosissima, Sandra Lou Haigh

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Avian species richness, species diversity, and density were measured and compared over a 21 month period on six riparian sites in Lake Mead National Recreation Area (LMNRA), southern Nevada. Sites consisted of two lake shore areas with almost pure stands of Tamarix ramosissima and four stream side areas, two with mixed Tamarix and native vegetation and two with only native vegetation. Overall mean avian species richness, diversity, and density were lowest on lake shore sites, intermediate on mixed stream sites and highest on stream sites with native vegetation. Differences in these values were significant between lake shore and stream sites …

Las Vegas In Popular Culture, Edward E Baldwin

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Las Vegas in Popular Culture is a survey and analysis of the depiction of Las Vegas in American popular culture. The dissertation identifies themes and patterns of interpretations of Las Vegas, a city which has come to occupy a central position in popular American mythology. The primary emphasis is on nationally published novels, short stories, and magazine articles, with a brief section on films. The material is evaluated in chronological order so that the depictions of Las Vegas can be seen in their historical contexts. Since the 1930s, writers in each succeeding decade emphasize different aspects of Las Vegas which …

Quality In The Travel Experience Of German Charter Visitors: The Case Of Las Vegas, Margaret Erstad

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to research the characteristics and behavior of a group of overseas visitors to Las Vegas, measure the travel experience perceptions regarding quality of the group, identify areas where importance perceptions were greater than quality perceptions, and relate quality in the travel experience to intended future behavior; The group studied consisted of visitors from Germany traveling by charter airline directly to Las Vegas. Germany was the country of origin of the largest number of overseas visitors to Las Vegas in 1993; Five hypotheses were tested covering three areas: gambling behavior, quality related to intended future …

Contesting The Commons: Race, Ethnicity, Class, Occupation, And Environment In Central Nevada, 1850-1880, Brian Wesley Frehner

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This thesis tells a story of resource competition in central Nevada primarily between two groups--Shoshone Indians who inhabited the region for centuries and European Americans who arrived in the nineteenth century. Although people who competed for control of the region's pinion pine trees generally fell into either of these categories, the labels of Indian and European grossly oversimplify the diversity within each group. Both Shoshone and Europeans comprised a variety of sub-groupings that utilized resources in a distinct manner and for purposes that often differed from those of the larger population. A number of different Shoshone bands and families competed …

Impact Of Casinos On Residential Property Values: Henderson, Nevada, Barbara Kozarich Giannini

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This thesis examines whether residential property values are affected by proximity to gaming establishments. Using a sample of houses from Henderson, Nevada, a hedonic price model is employed to relate residential sales prices to individual housing characteristics, including proximity to the nearest gaming establishment. Results indicate that proximity to gaming establishments do indeed lower residential property values. Further, it appears that larger gaming establishments have a larger impact on prices than smaller ones in Old HenderSon

A Methodology For Estimating Population For Transportation Risk Analysis, Marisa Guieb Mandocdoc

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

In selecting a route for the shipment of hazardous materials, the primary public safety concern is that routing minimizes risk by avoiding populated areas while utilizing the shortest and safest possible routes to reduce time in-state shipments; This research presents a methodology for estimating population index which reflects density ranges for various population groupings. The population index is based on the number of tracts, tract density, and county density. The population index is initially defined for population {dollar}{dollar}8000. in the absence of more data to validate the results in the latter grouping, the index is redefined for population {dollar}<{dollar}2500 and population {dollar}\geq{dollar}2500. The index is used to determine the level of analysis required in evaluating population: county, tract, or block level; Routing analysis based on minimization of risk by minimizing affected population is performed for the state of Nevada. The analysis focuses on two alternative rail routes that are being considered by the Department of Energy (DOE) for the shipment of high level wastes and spent nuclear fuels. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).

Friends, Neighbors, Foes And Invaders: Conflicting Images And Experiences Of Japanese Americans In Wartime Nevada, Andrew Benjamin Russell

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Japanese Americans of the interior West also faced perils during World War II, up to and including the possibility of internment and mass relocation. Although Nevada contained relatively few Japanese Americans at the outset of the war, the "Japanese question" received serious attention across the state. Early on, Nevadans grappled with the question of what to do about Japanese residents, and these debates spawned vastly different outcomes. In March 1942 the question changed, as many Nevadans began to fear and oppose an expected influx of "California Japs" (Japanese Americans the government was excluding from neighboring states). In this "free" interior …

Investigation Of Regional Flow Patterns In The Ash Meadows Groundwater Basin Of Southern Nevada Using Uranium Isotope Ratios, Dennis Edward Farmer

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Uranium concentrations and {dollar}\rm\sp{234}U/\sp{238}U{dollar} isotope ratios were determined for over 100 springs, wells and surface waters in areas on and surrounding the historical nuclear weapons testing range in southern Nevada, the Nevada Test Site (NTS). Uranium concentrations were less than 2 {dollar}\mu{dollar}g/liter in the Spring Mountains, where ground water enters the system, and between 2.5 and 5 {dollar}\mu{dollar}g/liter in waters discharging from the major springs at Ash Meadows, Nevada and the Death Valley-Furnace Creek area of southeastern California. Slightly higher levels of dissolved uranium (6-15 {dollar}\mu{dollar}g/liter) were associated with the weathering of susceptible rocks and the concentration of ground water …

Predator-Prey Interactions Of Zooplankton From A Shallow Endorheic Lake: Little Fish Lake, Nevada, Stephanie Elise Hampton

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The zooplankton community of Little Fish Lake exists in a seasonally and interannually variable physical environment. This shallow endorheic lake is particularly sensitive to climatic variability; depth and salinity fluctuate during periods of prolonged evaporation or precipitation. I examined zooplankton seasonal succession in Little Fish Lake during a period of relatively low salinity from March 1995 through March 1996. The community was more diverse during my study than it had been in periods of high salinity. While abiotic conditions probably affected the community structure, biotic interactions such as predation likely influenced succession as well. I observed interactions between the predaceous …

The Geology And Structures In The Northern Hiko Range, Lincoln County, Nevada, Douglas Duane Switzer

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

In the northern Hiko Range, extension occurred in four temporally distinct episodes during the Cenozoic. The extensional events are (1) prevolcanic ({dollar}>{dollar}27.31 {dollar}\pm{dollar} 0.03 Ma), (2) synvolcanic (between 22.78 {dollar}\pm{dollar} 0.03 and 18.5 {dollar}\pm{dollar} 0.4 Ma), (3) Tertiary (?) postvolcanic ({dollar}<{dollar}14.7 {dollar}\pm{dollar} 0.4 Ma), and (4) Pliocene (?)-Quaternary. Four fault sets are delineated based on orientation and cross-cutting relationships: (1) northeast- to northwest-striking moderately dipping prevolcanic faults, (2) east-west-striking, steeply dipping synvolcanic faults, (3) east-west- and east-northeast-striking, steeply dipping Tertiary (?) postvolcanic faults, and (4) generally north-striking steeply dipping Pliocene (?)-Quaternary faults; Prevolcanic faults in the northern Hiko Range are interpreted to be footwall faults to an Oligocene age extensional system. These faults increase the area known to be affected by Oligocene extension and support existing evidence that suggests this event is widespread; A tectonomagmatic rift model has been proposed to explain synvolcanic extension during the Tertiary in the northern Basin and Range province. However, the majority of the faults are postvolcanic and are not readily explained by the tectonomagmatic rift model. Both east-west- and east-northeast-striking oblique-slip faults occur along the Timpahute lineament. They appear to be the result of stresses produced by the Tertiary southward sweep of volcanism, in combination with a reduction of plate boundary stresses, which occurred after volcanism; The Hiko fault zone is a segmented fault of Pliocene (?)-Quaternary age that may still be active and is interpreted to be the bounding fault of a half graben in Pahranagat Valley. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).

Consent And Coercion: How The Ideology Of Progressivism Preserved Capitalist Relations In Nevada, 1900-1919, Daniel Mark Barber

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

During the so-called "Progressive Era," the State of Nevada influenced the consciousness of workers by rewarding proper thinking with access to state power and punishing improper thinking with criminal sanctions. Nevada Governor Emmet D. Boyle fostered a relationship with the state's prominent trade unionists that promoted Progressive notions of industrial cooperation. Legislation that created the Office of Labor Commissioner in 1915 secured this Progressive consensus between the State and trade unions in Nevada. The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) threatened this relationship however by introducing throughout Nevada's mining districts a radical, "class conscious" critique of capitalist relations. In response …

Glazing Type Vs Orientation: A Comparison Of Solar Gain Reduction In Las Vegas Product Houses, Lisa Evelyn Buchanan

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This study makes a comparison between the effectiveness of reducing solar gain through glass areas by either changing the glazing type or reorienting the glazing on typical Las Vegas, Nevada product homes. A survey of model houses was conducted to establish a set of size ranges in which the models were characterized. Solar gain comparisons were done for the month of July on three representative models from each range. The solar gain was considered for clear, tinted and low-e coated glass with the models oriented in each of the four cardinal directions. This same comparison was then performed on a …

Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design: A Comparative Analysis Of Two Las Vegas Apartment Complexes, Kim Michelle Hardy

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Many case studies have been published that report a reduction in crime as a result of crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED). Although methodologies and results of some studies have been questioned, there is agreement that the designed environment can influence human behavior; Findings in this study were generated by the analysis of two Las Vegas apartment complexes. Managers at one complex reported eliminating burglaries after providing individual gardens for their residents. My hypothesis was that the addition of gardens to existing characteristics at the study complex provided a high number of CPTED features which would result in a low …

Atomic Age Training Camp: The Historical Archaeology Of Camp Desert Rock, Susan Edwards

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Located in the southeast corner of the Nevada Test Site, Camp Desert Rock was established in 1951 when U.S. military leaders decided American ground troops needed physical and psychological training in the tactics of atomic warfare. For the next six years, Camp Desert Rock was home for the nearly 60,000 soldiers that participated in military exercises during atmospheric weapons testing. With the end of atmospheric testing the camp was partially dismantled and abandoned; The focus of this thesis was to identify and describe the material remains of Camp Desert Rock and to test the utility of Robert Schuyler's historic ethnographic …

Sound Effects: Measuring The Impact Of Aircraft Noise On Residential Property Values Around Mccarran International Airport, Curtis L. Myles

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The airline industry is investing billions of dollars to adhere to the Airport Noise and Capacity Act of 1990. The Act requires airlines to reconfigure 100% of their fleets with quieter aircraft. This regulation is based in part on studies conducted around airport facilities which indicated a negative impact from noise on residential property values; The purpose of this paper is to review the issue of aircraft noise and its impact on residential property, specifically single-family homes. It discusses the use of hedonic functional forms in measuring the effect of aircraft noise around a major airport facility. The empirical analysis …