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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

The Kefauver Hearing In Las Vegas, David Schwartz Nov 2020

The Kefauver Hearing In Las Vegas, David Schwartz

Executive Vice President & Provost Faculty Publications

The U.S. Senate’s Special Committee to Investigate Organized Crime in Interstate Commerce, chaired by Tennessee Democrat Estes Kefauver, focused attention as never before on gambling-related crime as a national problem. Popularly known as the Kefauver Committee after its telegenic chairman, the committee captivated the nation in 1950-1951 with its televised hearings. It retains its relevance today, particularly in Las Vegas, where The Mob Museum occupies the building in which the committee met during its sole trip to Las Vegas.


Yearning For Sovereignty: The Burden Of Independence, Nerses Kopalyan Sep 2020

Yearning For Sovereignty: The Burden Of Independence, Nerses Kopalyan

Political Science Faculty Research

Hundreds and thousands on the streets, with fists raised, symbolizing a singular maxim: Struggle. The demand for independence and the Karabakh conundrum, inextricably entwined. The nostalgia of 1918, beautiful yet suffocating. Moscow blinked, and Yerevan made its move: the bittersweet burden of state-building. Collective memory is an extraordinary phenomenon, as it transcends generations and imbues within a people an astonishing responsibility, the responsibility of defying history, of seeking a renaissance, and creating anew, a political reality. For the Armenian people, September 21, 1991 marked the realization of this new political reality: the independent Republic of Armenia.


Understanding The Aliyev Regime’S Armenophobia, Nerses Kopalyan Sep 2020

Understanding The Aliyev Regime’S Armenophobia, Nerses Kopalyan

Political Science Faculty Research

The nationalism of the Aliyev regime suffers from chronic pettiness, a self-realization that its banality breeds an artificial eulogization of historical relevance. Limited in historic values that give substance to a society’s conceptualization of its national spirit, the Azeri[1] ethos faces a profound dilemma: its nationalism is defined by its emptiness [in this article “Azeri” is a specific reference to the Azeri Turkic people that comprise approximately 90% of Azerbaijan, while “Azerbaijani” refers to citizens of the state of Azerbaijan - Editor]. This vacuity in its collective consciousness not only suffocates a desire for historical pride, but it also delimits …


Denying The Will Of The Armenian People: Populism, Democratic Backsliding And Polarization, Nerses Kopalyan Jul 2020

Denying The Will Of The Armenian People: Populism, Democratic Backsliding And Polarization, Nerses Kopalyan

Political Science Faculty Research

Opponents and critics of Armenia’s post-Velvet Revolution political establishment have relied on three main arguments in their attempts to question the legitimacy and broad mandate of the Pashinyan Administration. The first argument is hinged on the populism narrative, the second argument promotes the “democratic backsliding” narrative, and the third argument advances the polarization narrative. The underlying presupposition of these arguments not only question the will and character of the Armenian people, but also suggests a condescending and dismissive attitude towards Armenian political society. Collectively, these arguments assume that the Armenian electorate is composed of a naive, ill-informed citizenry that was …


Resolving The Constitutional Court’S Crisis Of Legitimacy, Nerses Kopalyan, Lusine Sargsyan Jun 2020

Resolving The Constitutional Court’S Crisis Of Legitimacy, Nerses Kopalyan, Lusine Sargsyan

Political Science Faculty Research

Expressing the collective will and tacit frustration of the Armenian electorate over the pace of judicial and structural reforms, the National Assembly, during a special session on June 22, 2020, initiated and unanimously approved a set of Constitutional amendments.[1] A tactical coup de grâce by the majority My Step faction, this procedural mechanism entailed a strategic utilization of parliamentary rules designed to uproot the entrenched problems of the Constitutional Court which, for the most part, is a remnant of the previous, undemocratic regime. This legal and tactical maneuvering remains remarkably consistent with the recommendations of the Venice Commission as well …


It Took A Fire To Change Us, David Schwartz Jun 2020

It Took A Fire To Change Us, David Schwartz

Executive Vice President & Provost Faculty Publications

Everyone who was in Las Vegas on the morning of November 21, 1980 remembers what they were doing when they heard that the MGM Grand was burning. It was the worst disaster in the city’s history, and, at the time, the second-worst hotel fire in the nation’s history. (The 1946 fire in Atlanta’s Winecoff Hotel, which claimed 119 lives, had that dubious honor.) All told, the MGM Grand fire would claim 87 lives. Thursday night had ended normally. At 7:15 Friday morning, a fast-moving fire erupted from the hotel’s deli, racing through the casino and sending toxic smoke through the …


Thick As Thieves: Bringing Armenia’S Robber Barons To Justice, Nerses Kopalyan Jun 2020

Thick As Thieves: Bringing Armenia’S Robber Barons To Justice, Nerses Kopalyan

Political Science Faculty Research

There is a certain inhumanity to stealing from the poor, from the disenfranchised, from children, and quite simply, from one’s own society. But the magnitude of such cruelty is further elevated when the theft is undertaken and brazenly justified by those in positions of political power.


Armenia Combats The Coronavirus: State Capacity And The Diaspora, Shant Shekherdimian, Nerses Kopalyan Mar 2020

Armenia Combats The Coronavirus: State Capacity And The Diaspora, Shant Shekherdimian, Nerses Kopalyan

Political Science Faculty Research

Armenia's Government has taken acute measures to combat COVID-19, the novel coronavirus disease, by implementing a set of aggressive policies aimed at containing the epidemic. The perceived relative success of these measures--although it is quite premature to speak of any kind of success at this stage--also recognizes the inevitable: the virus cannot be fully contained and it is a matter of time before its transmission escalates. This is precisely what has been observed in much of Europe, Asia, and North America: containment strategies remain limited, so governments are proceeding with more complex mitigation strategies.


A Coward's Mother Does Not Weep: The Crisis Of Masculinity In Armenian Society, Nerses Kopalyan Mar 2020

A Coward's Mother Does Not Weep: The Crisis Of Masculinity In Armenian Society, Nerses Kopalyan

Political Science Faculty Research

An Armenian man, by his very disposition, must be courageous, a tough guy, bound by honor, a prolific philanderer, an obedient son, a domineering father, a strict husband, and an altruistic friend. He is, in essence, a myth, constructed by his culture, extolled by its values, and in the end, he is doomed to fail. Why? Because he is a walking paradox. In fact, this paradox is superimposed upon him - the stature of Armenian masculinity [1] would have it no other way. He is Atlas, carrying the burden of everyone and everything around him. He is his father’s hope, …


Changing The Paradigm In Armenia-Diaspora Relations: State-Centered Institutions And Transnational Governance, Nerses Kopalyan Jan 2020

Changing The Paradigm In Armenia-Diaspora Relations: State-Centered Institutions And Transnational Governance, Nerses Kopalyan

Political Science Faculty Research

Nation-states that encompass large Diasporas are faced with the wider responsibility of accounting for two types of members: citizens that live within the territory of the state and members of the broader nation that reside in the Diaspora. In the Armenian case, legally speaking, an Armenian is a citizen of the Republic of Armenia; but, at the same time, a diasporan Armenian is equally qualified as an Armenian, even if they do not live within the legal boundaries of the state.


Leveraging Data To Reduce Gun Violence: The Cincinnati Experience, Matthew G. Hammer, Tamara D. Herold Jan 2020

Leveraging Data To Reduce Gun Violence: The Cincinnati Experience, Matthew G. Hammer, Tamara D. Herold

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

The year 2020 has amplified demands for more equitable policing, more efficient government, and greater transparency. As police leaders around the world attempt to maintain order and safety during a period of large-scale civil unrest, they must also address criticisms that existing law enforcement practices include biased interventions and reinforce systemic racism. Many law enforcement agencies are also responding to increasing numbers of serious crimes that disproportionately affect society’s most vulnerable communities, while simultaneously facing calls to “defund the police” fueled by accusations that challenge the legitimacy of their policing tactics. The strategies used by agencies to manage protests and …


Unlv Special Collections And Archives 2019 Archival Processing Metrics Survey Dataset, Cyndi Shein, Sarah R. Jones, Tammi Kim, Karla Irwin Jan 2020

Unlv Special Collections And Archives 2019 Archival Processing Metrics Survey Dataset, Cyndi Shein, Sarah R. Jones, Tammi Kim, Karla Irwin

Library Faculty Datasets

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) Libraries Special Collections and Archives is studying how archival processing metrics (including the hours of labor required to process each linear/cubic foot) are gathered and used by our colleagues. UNLV Special Collections and Archives conducted a survey with the objective to gather informal opinions and realities about processing metrics in an effort to understand the broader use of such metrics, to learn what data points are most essential, and to understand why more archival programs are not collecting and assessing processing metrics. The survey utilized the web-based tool Google Forms to gather responses …


Gamers Who Gamble: Examining The Relationship Between Esports Spectatorship And Event Wagering, Brett Abarbanel, Joseph Macey, Juho Hamari, Rolando R. Corley Melton Jan 2020

Gamers Who Gamble: Examining The Relationship Between Esports Spectatorship And Event Wagering, Brett Abarbanel, Joseph Macey, Juho Hamari, Rolando R. Corley Melton

International Gaming Institute Faculty Publications

During recent years, while electronic sports (esports) has increasingly become a positive mainstream cultural phenomenon, it also may have several socio-economic implications, such as the growth of esports betting. Much like betting in sport, betting on esports has become a prominent form of gambling. However, there is still a paucity of knowledge on the demographic characteristics of this gambling cohort, particularly in regard to its relationship to video game play and spectatorship. In the present study, past-year video gamers (N = 1368) completed an online survey. Survey questions inquired about their esports event spectating, video game play, and esports betting …