Digital Commons Network^™

Filling The Knowledge Gaps In Mass Timber Construction: Where Are The Missing Pieces, What Are The Research Needs?, Steffen Lehmann, Paul D. Kremer

Architecture Faculty Research

As mass timber construction evolves from a niche product to a mainstream, there is an urgent need for focused research activities to support the industry and avoid duplication or overlap of work being done internationally. To identify and prioritise the future of mass timber research agenda, this article pursues responses to the following questions: What is the current state of knowledge and where are the remaining research needs in mass timber construction? For example, newcomers to mass timber often believe it is imperative to research fire performance, fire resistance, or sound transmission when these areas have been extensively explored and …

Descriptive And Network Post-Occupancy Evaluation Of The Urban Public Space Through Social Media: A Case Study Of Bryant Park, Ny, Bo Zhang, Yang Song, Dingyi Liu, Zhongzhong Zeng, Shuying Guo, Qiuyi Yang, Yuhan Wen, Wenji Wang, Xiwei Shen

Architecture Faculty Research

In modern cities, urban public spaces, such as parks, gardens, plazas, and streets, play a big role in people’s social activities, physical activities, mental health, and overall well-being. However, the traditional post-occupancy evaluation (POE) process for public spaces such as large urban parks is extremely difficult, especially for long-term user experiences through observations, surveys, and interviews. On the other hand, social media has emerged as a major media outlet recording millions of user experiences to the public, which provides opportunities to inform how public space is used and perceived by users. Furthermore, unlike previous research that primarily presented descriptive characters …

Taboo Issue 22.2: Summer 2023, Kenneth Varner, David Carlson

Taboo: The Journal of Culture and Education

No abstract provided.

Can Subaltern, Multilingual And Multidialectical Bodies Feel? An Aspirational Call For Undoing The Coloniality Of Affects In English Learning And Teaching, Jihea Maddamsetti

Taboo: The Journal of Culture and Education

When Spivak (1988/2010) provocatively raised the question “Can the subaltern speak?” and concluded that they cannot, she did not mean that the subaltern literally or physically cannot speak. She meant that Western/Eurocentric/White ways of knowing and languaging produce colonial, epistemic violence that silences subaltern bodies.

In this conceptual paper, I pose a related question: “Can subaltern, multilingual and multidialectical bodies feel?” Little attention has been paid to understanding the affect of multilingual and multidialectical students during English Learning and Teaching (ELT) . As a teacher educator/researcher positioned within ELT in the white settler context of the U.S., I reach a …

Not All Doctoral Journeys Are Paved With Gold, Derek E. Fialkiewicz

Taboo: The Journal of Culture and Education

This article is a reflection on the journey through the process of my doctoral studies. Published dissertations or research articles are very neat and tidy with no mention of any adversity or struggle. Hence why many doctoral students feel stressed, anxiety, or like quitting when obstacles or roadblocks are encountered. My doctoral program took much longer than anticipated, and my resulting dissertation veered far from my original proposal. What began as a mixed-methods study with a possible 1,400 surveys and 20 interview participants was morphed into a qualitative case study with one participant. There were many contributing factors, most uncontrollable …

Changing Seasons Lie Ahead: A (Brief) Editorial Introduction (22.2), Kenneth Varner, David Carlson

Taboo: The Journal of Culture and Education

No abstract provided.

“What It Do?” The Effects Of Racial Code-Switching On Industry Turnover Intention, Jaimi Garlington, Cass Shum, Gloria Wong-Padoongpatt, Laura Book

Hospitality Faculty Research

Purpose: Racial code-switching is an impression management behavior for people to blend into social and professional situations by adhering to norms outside their own. Drawing on the identity threat perspective, this study aims to examine the harmful effects of racial code-switching on employee psychological depression and hospitality industry turnover intentions.

Design/methodology/approach: The current study used a two-wave time-lagged survey of 286 restaurant frontline employees. Participants were asked to rate their racial code-switching, identity threat and shame in the first survey. Participants reported their depression and industry turnover intention in the second survey one week later.

Findings: The results showed that …

Rainy Day Funds In The Mountain West, Fy22, Issac Hernandez-Alcaraz, Maryam Raja, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Elections & Governance

This fact sheet examines data from “Record State Budget Reserves Buffer Against Mounting Fiscal Threats,” a 2023 Pew Charitable Trusts report on rainy day fund balances of U.S. states. Data includes information on the strength of rainy day funds and total balances for each Mountain West state: Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah.

Urban And Community Tree Cover In The Mountain West, Zachary Billot, Zachary Walusek, Annie Vong, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Environment

This fact sheet examines data on tree cover and impervious cover in urban land for the United States and for the five states in the Mountain West: Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. The original report includes data for each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia

Traffic-Related Pedestrian Deaths In The Mountain West, 2022, Miguel Soriano Ralston, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Transportation & Infrastructure

This fact sheet examines data from Smarth Growth America’s report, “Dangerous By Design, 2022,” which reports on traffic deaths throughout the United States. This fact sheet highlights pedestrian deaths as well as deaths among specific groups based on age, race, ethnicity, and media household income between 2016 and 2020 in the Mountain West: Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. This fact sheet builds upon a 2020 fact sheet, titled “Traffic-Related Pedestrian Deaths in the Sun Belt Region,” which examined Smart Growth America’s assessment of pedestrian safety for the years 2008 to 2017.

A Recipe To Gauge Success: Using Repository Data To Assess A Faculty Bibliography, Andrea Wirth, Christina Miskey

Library Faculty Presentations

In the 2016-2017 academic year, staff in the Scholarly Communication & Data Services Department at UNLV University Libraries began to compile a comprehensive faculty research bibliography for display in the Digital Scholarship@UNLV institutional repository. The bibliography has been a significant aspect of the workload of the department and a major focus of the institutional repository ever since. While workflows for managing the bibliography evolved over time, metadata cleaning and management, author outreach, and uploading accompanying open access publications to the records remained consistent elements of the project. As scholarly communication and data services grew, department staff began to question the …

Global, Regional, And National Burden Of Diabetes From 1990 To 2021, With Projections Of Prevalence To 2050: A Systematic Analysis For The Global Burden Of Disease Study 2021, Kavita Batra, Numerous Authors, See List Below

School of Medicine Faculty Research

Background:

Diabetes is one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide, and affects people regardless of country, age group, or sex. Using the most recent evidentiary and analytical framework from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD), we produced location-specific, age-specific, and sex-specific estimates of diabetes prevalence and burden from 1990 to 2021, the proportion of type 1 and type 2 diabetes in 2021, the proportion of the type 2 diabetes burden attributable to selected risk factors, and projections of diabetes prevalence through 2050.

Methods:

Estimates of diabetes prevalence and burden were computed in …

Research Methods In Urban Design: A Framework For Researching The Performance And Resilience Of Places, Steffen Lehmann

Architecture Faculty Research

Research is the systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions. (Oxford English Dictionaries, 2020.)

What exactly is research in the broad field of performance of urban design, and what methods have proven to be appropriate and useful? There can be very narrow definitions of what constitutes “proper” research and natural scientists will most likely give a different answer from that provided by social researchers or engineers. Some may insist that research is only research when it proves or disproves a hypothesis and uncovers new facts, for example, about the …

Shifts In French Jewish Citizenship, 1789-1840s, Jourdin Wilson

Spectra Undergraduate Research Journal

The citizenship of Jews became more discussed as a result of changes from the French Revolution of 1789. There were a variety of perspectives between non-Jews and Jews, and between different groups of Jews. The research methodology involves the analysis of qualitative primary sources including government texts and debates, groups of everyday Jews, and French Jewish literature and journal excerpts. The theoretical framework of nationalism will guide how citizenship is analyzed in the research, based on Dean Kostantaras’s book Nationalism and Revolution in Europe, 1763-1848. Results show that the way French Jews fit into or engaged with society is quite …

Problem Gambling And Cognitive Distortions Among Macao Vip Hosts: A Brief Report, Tiange Xu, Brett Abarbanel, Mehmet Erdem, Bo J. Bernhard, Shane W. Kraus

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

This report investigates the understudied group of VIP Hosts in Macao casinos, who cater to high rollers and may be more vulnerable to problem gambling due to their exposure to heavy betting. To comprehensively profile their gambling behaviors and cognitions, we conducted an anonymous online survey using the Chinese Version of South Oaks Gambling Screen (C-SOGS) and the Gambling Fallacies Measure (GFM). Given the difficulty of accessing this population, we employed the snowball sampling technique to recruit eligible participants. Our analysis included data from 41 participants, and the findings revealed high levels of gambling-related cognitive distortions among VIP Hosts. In …

An Attribution Account Of The Effects Of Leaders’ Gender And Abusive Supervision On Employee Insubordination, Dongwon Yun, Cass Shum

Hospitality Faculty Research

Purpose: Drawing on attribution theory, this research examines how and when abusive supervision affects insubordination, focusing on employees’ attribution bias related to leader gender.

Methodology: Two mixed-method studies were used to test the proposed research framework. Study 1 adopted a 2 (abusive supervision: low vs. high) by 2 (leader gender: male vs. female) by employee gender-leadership bias quasi-experiment. A sample of 173 U.S. F&B employees completed Study 1. In Study 2, 116 hospitality employees responded to two-wave time-lagged surveys. They answered questions on abusive supervision and gender-leadership bias in Survey 1. Two weeks later, they reported negative external attribution (embodied …

Acute Suppurative Thyroiditis Secondary To Gemella With Extensive Complications, Amber Champion

Department of Internal Medicine Faculty Research

A young woman developed thyroid storm secondary to acute suppurative thyroiditis, with Gemella morbillorum bacteremia. Her case was complicated by neck abscess, Lemierre syndrome (septic thrombophlebitis of the internal jugular vein), mediastinitis, and pleural effusion. She was treated for thyroid storm including steroids and antibiotics. The infectious complications required several surgical procedures and interventions and a prolonged hospital stay, but she ultimately made a full recovery. Complications from suppurative thyroiditis can be rapid and widespread; swift recognition and treatment by a multidisciplinary team can help to prevent complications.

Spatiotemporal Variability In Total Dissolved Solids And Total Suspended Solids Along The Colorado River, Godson Ebenezer Adjovu, Haroon Stephen, Sajjad Ahmad

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

The Colorado River is a principal source of water for 40 million people and farmlands in seven states in the western US and the Republic of Mexico. The river has been under intense pressure from the effects of climate change and anthropogenic activities associated with population growth leading to elevated total dissolved solid (TDS) and total suspended solid (TSS) concentrations. Elevated TDS- and TSS-related issues in the basin have a direct negative impact on the water usage and the ecological health of aquatic organisms. This study, therefore, analyzed the spatiotemporal variability in the TDS and TSS concentrations along the river. …

Payments Transaction Data From Online Casino Players And Online Sports Bettors, Kasra Ghaharian, Piyush Puranik, Brett Abarbanel, Kazem Taghva, Shane W. Kraus, Ashok Singh, Alan Feldman, Bo Bernhard

International Gaming Institute Faculty Research

Raw datasets were sourced from a U.S. based provider of digital gambling payments systems, who has demanded to remain anonymous. The raw datasets cover a time period of 6-years (2015-2021), representing over 300,000 customers and approximately 90 million transaction records. One of these raw datasets is a transaction log file representing customer payment transaction data across a variety of gambling merchants (e.g., online casinos, sportsbooks, and lottery providers). With this article we describe the transaction log file and provide two filtered subsets of the data. The subsets contain 1-year of customer payments transaction records for two gambling merchants: (1) a …

Stories To Empower Our Communities: Promoting Diverse Lgbtqia+ Narratives In Picture Book Collections, Amanda Melilli, Alicia G. Vaandering, James W. Rosenzweig

Library Faculty Presentations

Do you want to move past marking that diversity checkbox and take your LGBTQIA+ collection development to the next level? As seen through the work of Diverse BookFinder, how historically underrepresented identities are portrayed in our collections is just as important as increasing the number of books depicting these identities. This presentation moves beyond asking if there is LGBTQIA+ representation in recently published picture books and instead explores the more complex questions of who is being represented, in what ways, to what extent, and why each type of narrative is important to children and their families. Join us to gain …

Resistance Training In Patients After Metabolic And Bariatric Surgery: Protocol For A Systematic Review, Whitney Elks, Adam Rooks, Spencer Schulte, Kavita Batra, Jocelyn Burke, Varun Jain

Department of Medical Education Faculty Research

Background: Resistance training has been consistently shown to have multiple health benefits, especially for patients who have undergone bariatric surgery. Patients who have undergone bariatric surgery are recommended to participate in resistance exercise; however, protocols and guidelines for resistance training remain poorly implemented. Objective: This is a protocol for a systematic review and possibly a meta-analysis that will synthesize evidence of the effects of resistance exercise on changes in body composition, muscular strength, overall weight loss or maintenance of weight loss, and quality of life in patients after metabolic and bariatric surgery (MBS). The findings of this study may provide …

Remdesivir-Associated Bradycardia In Covid-19: A Rapid Review Protocol, Elli Tian Bsc, Celica Cosme, Justin Bauzon, Kavita Batra, Fadi Azar, Ariyon Schreiber

School of Medicine Faculty Research

Introduction: Remdesivir is an antiviral medication that is used in the treatment of severe COVID-19. Research has highlighted the potential cardiac side effects of remdesivir, including the occurrence of remdesivir-associated bradycardia (RAB), but these findings have not been consistent. In addition, very little is known about the clinical implications and outcomes of RAB. The aim of this rapid systematic review is to determine the event rate of developing bradycardia while receiving remdesivir treatment compared with not receiving remdesivir in patients diagnosed with COVID-19.

Methods and analysis: This study follows the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocol guidelines …

Pandemic Upon Pandemic: Middle-Aged And Older Men Who Have Sex With Men Living With Hiv Coping And Thriving During The Peak Of Covid-19, Sherry Bell, Brandon Ranuschio, John M. Waldron, Lianne Barnes, Nadia Sheik-Yosef, Esmeralda Villalobos, Janelle Wackens, Renato M. Liboro

Psychology Faculty Research

When the COVID-19 pandemic emerged in early 2020, not only did it abruptly impede the progress that was being made toward achieving global targets to end the HIV pandemic, but it also created significant impacts on the physical and mental health of middle-aged and older men who have sex with men living with HIV. Utilizing a qualitative, community-based participatory research approach, we conducted semi-structured, one-on-one interviews with 16 ethnoracially diverse, middle-aged and older men who have sex with men living with HIV residing in Southern Nevada, to examine the different ways the COVID-19 pandemic directly impacted their physical and mental …

Can Psilocybin Assisted Therapy Help People With Gambling Disorder?, Pedro Romero

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Gambling disorder (GD) is a behavioural addiction that affects millions of people worldwide. Although various treatment approaches have been developed to manage this condition, many individuals still struggle to overcome their addiction. Recent studies have suggested that psilocybin-assisted therapy may be a promising treatment option for gambling disorder. This study aims to investigate the safety and efficacy of psilocybin-assisted therapy for individuals with gambling disorder.

I intend to conduct an open-label trial as part of my PhD with approximately 12 participants with a diagnosis of gambling disorder. The participants will undergo psilocybin-assisted therapy sessions, with a trained therapist. The primary …

Gambling And Experiences With Spending Money In Games – Children From State Schools Across The Uk, Anca-Maria Gherghel

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

In partnership with WHYSUP and Teen Tips, EPIC Risk Management delivered testimonial education seminars aimed to educate children across the UK on the potential harms of gambling and gambling in gaming. Using an online survey, the organisation investigated their gambling experiences and motivations, views and experiences with gaming and spending money on in-game purchases. The seminar was delivered to 84 state schools across the UK, reaching 13,821 pupils, of which 2,393 completed the survey between August 2021 and July 2022.

The survey results show that 29% of respondents participated in loot boxes/skins betting and that 38% believe spending money on …

Demographic And Population Change In Mountain West Cities And Suburbs, 2020 Census, Zachary Billot, Saha Salahi, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Demography

This fact sheet examines the five metro areas with populations exceeding one million in the Mountain West, drawing from the Brookings Institution report, “Today’s Suburbs are Symbolic of America’s Rising Diversity: A 2020 Census Portrait” by William Frey. Demographic data are included for both primary city and suburban portions for the major metros in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, and Utah.

Digital Job Growth In The Mountain West, 2002-2020, Lana Kojoian, Miguel Soriano Ralston, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet examines data from the Brookings Institution report, “As the Digitalization of Work Expands, Place-based Solutions Can Bridge the Gaps,” which explores information on digital job growth in the U.S. The original report contains the digitalization scores of each state from 2002 to 2020 as well as scores for specific occupations. This fact sheet focuses on the digital job growth for each state in the Mountain West (Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah) and their metros.

In This Together: Challenges And Opportunities For Collaborative Health Sciences Collection Development, Ana Corral, Stefanie Lapka

Library Faculty Research

An ideal objective of collection management is the development of a library collection that meets the needs of users and in the case of university libraries, the academic and research needs of a campus community. But in today’s technology-driven, budget-conscious environment, collection development at academic health sciences libraries can present challenging issues for those responsible, especially librarians new to collection development or whose primary responsibilities are situated elsewhere. Issues include gaining familiarity with institutional collection development and purchasing processes, selector collaboration, managing multiple library locations, acquiring non-traditional material, and developing more diverse and inclusive collections.

This paper will present an …

Evaluating The Potential Of Geopolymer Concrete As A Sustainable Alternative For Thin White-Topping Pavement, Sathvik S. Chandra, Pshtiwan Shakor, Sarwar Mohmmad, Bankole O. Awuzie, Atul K. Singh, Abishek Rauniyar, M Karakouzian

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

Introduction:

The construction industry uses a large quantity of natural materials in the production of concrete. Although attempts to incorporate green materials in concrete began years ago, not every building uses such materials today, and roadways, particularly, still rely on unsustainable materials.

Methods:

Therefore, this study used alternative materials, including fly ash, manufactured sand aggregates, and different molarities of alkaline activators, to incorporate waste byproducts in a geopolymer concrete white-topping pavement layer. Recent developments have led to the emergence of geopolymers as distinct classes of materials. In the 1990s, fly ash-based geopolymers became more popular than other kinds, as they …

Validity Of Fitbit And Garmin Devices While Ascending And Descending Flights Of Stairs, Alan Garcia

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Two popular wearable fitness device brands are Fitbit and Garmin. The validity of Fitbit and Garmin’s wrist-worn devices in measuring step counts in various settings, such as walking up and down a staircase, is unclear. PURPOSE: To determine if four devices, the Fitbit Charge 2, Fitbit Versa 2, Garmin Fēnix 5 and Garmin Vívosmart HR+ record valid measures of step count when ascending and descending flights of stairs at three different speeds. METHODS: Twenty-eight participants (n=28) were tested individually. Two devices were randomly selected to be placed on each wrist. Participants climbed up and then down one, two, and three …