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The Impact Of Interracial Contact On Stereotypical Perceptions, Joann Watts Debose Jan 1999

The Impact Of Interracial Contact On Stereotypical Perceptions, Joann Watts Debose

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Situations involving interracial contact and their impact on the reduction of racist attitudes among whites in America will be examined using the contact theory of prejudice. This perspective maintains that evidence for the continued "social distance" between blacks and whites can be quantified in measures of workplace contact. Racial perceptions in schools, churches and neighborhoods provide additional evidence for the contact theory of race relations. Stereotypic perceptions develop when people are unable or unwilling to obtain all the information needed to make accurate judgments about people or situations. Often, the absence of the "total picture" encourages people to fill in …

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The Effects Of Computerized Instruction In Intermediate Algebra, Cynthia Lynn Glickman Jan 1999

The Effects Of Computerized Instruction In Intermediate Algebra, Cynthia Lynn Glickman

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This study was designed to measure the effects of a reform oriented computer assisted instructional environment R-CAI on community college students' procedural skill acquisition and conceptual understanDing Also examined were the effects of a computerized instructional environment on students' attitudes toward mathematics; The R-CAI involved the use of Prentice Hall's Interactive Mathematics with lessons created to provide opportunities for students to learn within "real world" contexts. Using these activities, students collected information, analyzed data and applied mathematical concepts; After controlling for initial differences, it was concluded that students taught by the R-CAI environment significantly outperformed students taught by the Traditional …

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Dimension Reduction Of Image And Audio Space, Blaine Lee Hagstrom Jan 1999

Dimension Reduction Of Image And Audio Space, Blaine Lee Hagstrom

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The reduction of data necessary for storage or transmission is a desirable goal in the digital video and audio domain. Compression schemes strive to reduce the amount of storage space or bandwidth necessary to keep or move the data. Data reduction can be accomplished so that visually or audibly unnecessary data is removed or recoded thus aiding the compression phase of the data processing. The characterization and identification of data that can be successfully removed or reduced is the purpose of this work. New philosophy, theory and methods for data processing are presented towards the goal of data reduction. The …

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Reproductive And Growth Responses Of Mojave Desert Plants To A Changing Climate, Travis E Huxman Jan 1999

Reproductive And Growth Responses Of Mojave Desert Plants To A Changing Climate, Travis E Huxman

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Global change may impact terrestrial ecosystems through effects on the regenerative capacities of plants. Changes in energy allocation to reproduction, as a result of increasing CO2, changing temperature or precipitation, could shift the ecological and evolutionary factors that control plant distributions and species interactions. These changes in energy allocation to reproduction are manifested as seed number, viability and mass change. We conducted a meta-analysis of results from a number of different elevated CO2 experiments with the goal of determining patterns of reproductive response across a large number of species and functional types. In addition, we performed a number of experimental …

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Terrorism And Political Policy: Crisis And *Policy Making Indicators In The Media During Legislative Action, James David Ballard Jan 1999

Terrorism And Political Policy: Crisis And *Policy Making Indicators In The Media During Legislative Action, James David Ballard

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This study tested three political sociology policy making theories with relation to the media coverage of an act of political violence and the affiliated policy formation processes related to this event. To test the three theories, a case study was conducted on the bombing of the Alfred Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995 and the subsequent policy enacted under the auspices of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDP). The case analysis focused on several preexisting policy debates, the media coverage immediately following the bombing, and subsequent policy discussions leading to the passage of the …

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Building Community In A Virtual Classroom: Construction Of Classroom Culture In A Postsecondary Distance Education Class, Virginia Anne Bielman Jan 1999

Building Community In A Virtual Classroom: Construction Of Classroom Culture In A Postsecondary Distance Education Class, Virginia Anne Bielman

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate how a community was constructed in a postsecondary distance education class that relied only on computer-mediated communications. The use of a social constructionist perspective with Interactional Ethnography provided a theoretical and methodological means to make visible how the actions and interactions of the class members constructed their community. This study was built on and expanded qualitative research in K--12 traditional classrooms, which provided a lens with which to view the processes that shaped on-line community development. Past research has used ethnography and discourse analysis to investigate how traditional classroom participants' interactions over …

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Town And Hinterland: Kingman And Mohave County, Arizona, 1860--1940, Diana Roock Dever Jan 1999

Town And Hinterland: Kingman And Mohave County, Arizona, 1860--1940, Diana Roock Dever

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This work examines the complex socioeconomic relationship between a northwestern Arizona town and its hinterland from 1860--1940. During this time, Mohave County, Arizona experiences the impact of three industries: mining, ranching, and railroaDing After 1882, mining boomtowns in the hinterland stimulate the growth of the Kingman railsiding, making it the only viable transshipment point in the county. The town's development relies on economic activities within its hinterland, national trends, and the character of its hardworking inhabitants, including its diverse racial and ethnic groups. Separate demographic profiles from 1900--1940 of Kingman and Mohave County's composition demonstrate changes that occur. Following the …

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An Evaluation Of Unsaturated Flow Models In An Arid Climate, Jason Michael Dixon Jan 1999

An Evaluation Of Unsaturated Flow Models In An Arid Climate, Jason Michael Dixon

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of two unsaturated flow models in and regions. The area selected for the study was the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site (RWMS) at the Nevada Test Site in Nye County, Nevada. The two models selected for this evaluation were HYDRUS-1D [Simunek et al., 1998] and the SHAW model [Flerchinger and Saxton, 1989]. Approximately 5 years of soil-water and atmospheric data collected from an instrumented weighing lysimeter site near the RWMS were used for building the models with actual initial and boundary conditions representative of the site. Physical processes affecting …

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Non-Intrusive Assessment Of Radionuclides In Enclosed Pipes And Vessels, Traci Renee Glew Jan 1999

Non-Intrusive Assessment Of Radionuclides In Enclosed Pipes And Vessels, Traci Renee Glew

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The assessment and cleanup of various nuclear sites throughout the country has become an increasingly important issue. Methods for assessment of radioactive material within pipe and duct systems at these sites must be cost effective, efficient, and safe. Several tests were conducted at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, using both steel and aluminum pipes with a Cesium 137 source placed inside. A Geiger-Muller pancake detector was used to measure gamma rays from several angular positions and at various axial distances along the outside of the pipe. A plot of the data showed excellent results despite the low efficiency of …

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United States Business Travelers' Response To Price Changes And Overbooking: Its Effect On Intentional Loyalty In The Hospitality Industry, Nicholas Jee Gordon Jan 1999

United States Business Travelers' Response To Price Changes And Overbooking: Its Effect On Intentional Loyalty In The Hospitality Industry, Nicholas Jee Gordon

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Companies that have highly perishable inventories have used yield management quite extensively over the past decade. The process helps to maximize revenues based on demand. The airline industry was the first to adopt the process into a business setting and has seen varying results along the way. Much of the existing research is geared towards examining the revenue producing potential of the system. There has been little research however, to examine how this process of shifting price to manipulate demand effects customer loyalty; This research attempts to evaluate what the effects actually are when price is used as the major …

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On Lossless Image Compression, Huawen He Jan 1999

On Lossless Image Compression, Huawen He

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Accompanying the growth in the size of database and the use of images has been a large increase in the number of users and duration of usage by personnel at remote locations. These factors result in tremendous amounts of data being stored and transferred between computers and remote terminals. Data compression is therefore very important to reduce the size of data files and the time needed to transfer between the remote terminals. A wide variety of compression techniques have been developed over past 20 years to reduce size of image files. Some techniques represent the application of modified lossless compression …

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A Windows-Based Roadway Maintenance Management System, Ranjit Menon Jan 1999

A Windows-Based Roadway Maintenance Management System, Ranjit Menon

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

A Maintenance Management System (MMS), as the name suggests, is a system used to manage maintenance activities on any infrastructure system or facility such as a road network. Maintenance of a road network involves repair, construction and improvement of pavements and the right of way elements that deteriorate due to their usage, exposure to the environment and various other causes such as impact during crashes, vandalism etc. Management of the maintenance activities is critical to maintain the level of service of the road network, public safety and welfare and for effective and efficient fiscal planning. Since this involves large expenses, …

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I/O Embedding And Broadcasting In Star Interconnection Networks, Kalyanram Palagummi Jan 1999

I/O Embedding And Broadcasting In Star Interconnection Networks, Kalyanram Palagummi

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The issues of communication between a host or central controller and processors, in large interconnection networks are very important and have been studied in the past by several researchers. There is a plethora of problems that arise when processors are asked to exchange information on parallel computers on which processors are interconnected according to a specific topology. In robust networks, it is desirable at times to send (receive) data/control information to (from) all the processors in minimal time. This type of communication is commonly referred to as broadcasting. To speed up broadcasting in a given network without modifying its topology, …

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Advertising And The Elderly: Do Magazine Ads Continue To Reinforce Ageism?, Jaymes Antonio Aimetti Jan 1999

Advertising And The Elderly: Do Magazine Ads Continue To Reinforce Ageism?, Jaymes Antonio Aimetti

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to assess how the younger population views the elderly in magazine ads, as well as how mature adults view themselves through media depiction when they see elderly characters in print ads. A convenience sample of one-hundred university students and forty-eight retired teachers from the Nevada Chapter of Retired Teachers answered a questionnaire including: negative, neutral, or positive depictions of seniors in ads; whether or not seniors are portrayed accurately, and the frequency of senior minorities in magazine ads. Results suggest that a majority of the respondents agree that seniors are portrayed inaccurately in magazine …

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"Welcome, Fellow Toastmasters": The History And Membership Of A Public Speaking Phenomenon, Ellen Beth Levine Bremen Jan 1999

"Welcome, Fellow Toastmasters": The History And Membership Of A Public Speaking Phenomenon, Ellen Beth Levine Bremen

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Since 1905, Toastmasters International (TI) serves as the most recognized organization for voluntary oral communication practice in the world. Due to the dearth of scholarly communication research regarding TI, this thesis details the history, educational structure, and program dynamics of the organization. Literature review included the nature and extent of post-secondary communication education, as well as social affiliation and leisure theories. Finally, an Internet survey of 343 international TI members revealed the demographics of the "typical" TI member: a male or female college graduate between the ages of 36--50, who works in a wide range of professions. The study also …

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Date Rape Attitudes Intervention: A Controlled Outcome Study, Shera Deanne Beadner Jan 1999

Date Rape Attitudes Intervention: A Controlled Outcome Study, Shera Deanne Beadner

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Date rape is a widespread problem; however, there is a paucity of methodologically sound intervention studies available. The research that does exist has found contradictory results regarding the effectiveness of different types of intervention programs. This study attempted to address some of the short-comings of previous research and build upon the existing Information A date rape intervention targeting date rape attitudes was evaluated in 88 undergraduate students. The intervention was compared to an equivalent control group. A repeated measures 2 (intervention, control) x 3 (pre-test, post-test, follow-up) MANOVA (multivariate analysis of variance) was used to analyze the data. The MANOVA …

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Divorce: A Matter Of Rights And Responsibilities, Mary Jane Watson Brick Jan 1999

Divorce: A Matter Of Rights And Responsibilities, Mary Jane Watson Brick

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

In 1970, American society, steeped in a culture that emphasizes individual rights, turned away from traditional fault-based divorce laws to embrace the easy, unilateral no-fault divorce laws in place today---divorce laws that have had unexpected and disastrous economic consequences for the children of divorce. During the 1990s, many political and social groups advocated divorce reform that would return divorce law to a more traditional, fault-based system; however, no significant revisions to the no-fault laws were passed, arguably because our cultural norms will not support a return to fault-based divorce. Recognizing the underlying political and ethical theories that have shaped our …

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The Racial Composition Of Prisons And The Conditions Of Confinement, Shannan Michelle Catalano Jan 1999

The Racial Composition Of Prisons And The Conditions Of Confinement, Shannan Michelle Catalano

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Historically, Blacks have been subjected to both capricious and extreme methods of social control. Despite a generation of criminal justice reform, many argue that the social inequities of our past are too deeply interwoven in the social fabric to be extricated, resulting in discrimination which has become institutionalized. Of sociological interest is the manner in which differential outcomes in the criminal justice system may be a manifestation of differential treatment on the basis of race. Equally important are the possible determinants, such as race, of differing reactions to certain inmate populations; In recent years, many studies have addressed the question …

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The Canons Of Television: An Application Of The Five Canons Of Classical Rhetoric To Television Program Development, Jamey Todd Combs Jan 1999

The Canons Of Television: An Application Of The Five Canons Of Classical Rhetoric To Television Program Development, Jamey Todd Combs

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This study constructs a methodology of television program development based on the five canons of classical rhetoric. Ronald Primeau (1979) first introduced the canons to the electronic media. His book uses the canons as a guide to television viewing. He argues that by understanding the television industry, an audience can better enjoy the medium. Expanding from Primeau's work, this study creates a method of program development based on the canons and uses the process to design a synopsis for a new television series.

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Transcendent Leader Centered Analysis: A Reconstructive Approach To Social Movement Analysis, Kurt Ulrich Coleman Jan 1999

Transcendent Leader Centered Analysis: A Reconstructive Approach To Social Movement Analysis, Kurt Ulrich Coleman

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This essay proposed a framework for social movement analysis that extends postmodern deconstructive techniques to a form of reconstruction which transcends the exploration of how language can say many different things simultaneously. By assessing the rhetoric of a movement, the leaders' view of conflict, pattern of expressing conflict, and the dynamic of identity in the escalation of conflict are revealed. James R. Andrews! (1980) method was utilized which concentrates on the leaders' manipulation of language, the "move" of a movement, in determining a conflicts directionality. Case studies analyzed the movements which led to the 1980 Miami Riot and the 1992 …

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Exploring The Situational Context Of Criminal Assaults And Batteries, Gini Rene Deibert Jan 1999

Exploring The Situational Context Of Criminal Assaults And Batteries, Gini Rene Deibert

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Social scientists are increasingly aware of the significance of examining crime events and the situational context of crime. This paper extends that research by exploring the physical and social aspects of assaults. Guided by research on masculinity, status threats, and character contests, this study uses police data to examine the situational dynamics of dispute-related assaults; Specifically, this study differentiates two types of dispute-related violence: character contests and noncharacter contests. Numerous situational variables are examined to assess the significance of their relationship with the likelihood of an offense being a character contest; By comparing character contests to other types of dispute-related …

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Casino Employee Gambling Behavior, Karen Barbara Duquette Jan 1999

Casino Employee Gambling Behavior, Karen Barbara Duquette

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This study described the gambling behavior and the prevalence of problem and pathological gambling among casino employees. Casino employees (N = 271) from a local Hotel/Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada completed self-report questionnaires, which included The South Oaks Gambling Screen (Lesieur and Bloom, 1987), as well as some additional questions specific to casino employees, their work environment, and their gambling behavior. The rate of pathological gambling among the sample was 20.3%. Despite no gender differences with regard to gambling pathology, males and females differed in rate of play, amount of money wagered, and types of casino games played. Additionally, a …

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Measuring Efficiency In The Clark County Hotel Casino Industry, Daniel Encinoza Jan 1999

Measuring Efficiency In The Clark County Hotel Casino Industry, Daniel Encinoza

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The analysis and comparison of productivity in the service sector have proven to be difficult. Nevertheless, the Tomqvist index of relative productivity used in this study allows me to compare the relative productivity of different hotel-casino properties, while avoiding the usual problems that arise when measuring efficiency in service industries. This empirical study illustrates the efficiency of index numbers in evaluating relative efficiency. The simplicity of the model and its ability to evaluate all aspects of the production process, including economies of scale, renders this methodology far superior to the use of direct indexes. From calculations included in the study, …

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An Age Of Opportunity: Education And Employment In Cyberspace, Rachel Beth Friedman Jan 1999

An Age Of Opportunity: Education And Employment In Cyberspace, Rachel Beth Friedman

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

There are many trends in cyberspace that are directly affecting both universities' education systems and the current job markets. This research provides an overview of some of these computer mediated trends. The purpose of this work is to look at the current job market, examine some of the computer related jobs for recent college graduates, look at distance education as an educational opportunity for many different people, and look at future opportunities that computer mediation will continue to provide. Students will have better insight of these trends, while professors will have a strong appreciation of the importance of teaching and …

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A Chipped Stone Characterization Of Ghwair I: A Neolithic Village In Southern Jordan, John Patrick Gervasoni Jan 1999

A Chipped Stone Characterization Of Ghwair I: A Neolithic Village In Southern Jordan, John Patrick Gervasoni

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Ghwair I, a Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) village in the Wadi Feinan in Southern Jordan, has been excavated from 1993 through 2000. The chipped stone recovered from Ghwair I (N = 48,388) has undergone a techno-typological analysis to help characterize the site's chronology and possible function. The analysis of recovered PPNB chipped stone indicators has demonstrated that Ghwair I is a PPNB village that shows minimal variation in its chipped stone proportions from different areas of the site. The analysis presented here also concludes that Ghwair I, although rife with microlithic technology typical of an earlier PPNA occupation, does not …

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An Empirical Examination Of Factors That Influence Venture Capital Investment And The Location Of Funds, Sandra Phillips Johnson Jan 1999

An Empirical Examination Of Factors That Influence Venture Capital Investment And The Location Of Funds, Sandra Phillips Johnson

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Entrepreneurs who contribute to economic growth have looked to venture capital firms as a major source of financing. This thesis tests the significance of explanatory variables for investment in venture capital at both the national and regional levels. The explanatory variables predicting national new investment in venture capital include capital pins tax rates, stock market pricing, risk premiums, and regulations on pension fund investment. Further, this thesis examines whether the location of venture capital funds depends on research and development funds at universities within a state, state corporate income tax burdens, state unemployment rates, and average weekly earnings within a …

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Battered Women: Exploring Motivating Factors To Leave Or Remain In Violent Relationships, Lora Ellen Kirn Jan 1999

Battered Women: Exploring Motivating Factors To Leave Or Remain In Violent Relationships, Lora Ellen Kirn

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The current study explores factors motivating women to leave or remain in violent relationships from an interactionist perspective. Literature reviewed will integrate gender socialization and labeling with studies on domestic violence to investigate a woman's role in becoming a victim and her responses to violent relationships. Interview data from women residing in a domestic violence shelter examine the label "battered woman" insofar as it may serve as a catalyst for leaving an abusive relationship once a woman identifies with being a battered woman. Further, a woman's view of her role, commitment to family maintenance, and children in the home are …

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Using Porn: Discourse And Identity Construction In Male Consumers, Andrew Fletcher Harper Jan 1999

Using Porn: Discourse And Identity Construction In Male Consumers, Andrew Fletcher Harper

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

A number of cultural perspectives address the question of male consumers of heterosexually oriented pornography. Porn and the consumer have been characterized from feminist, conservative, and scientific positions. Despite the presence of these perspectives, little work informed from the consumer perspective exists. This research allows consumers to speak about their own experience. This research analyzes the impact of framing discourses on the identity construction of consumers. Using concepts from Foucault and cultural studies, these questions are explored: How do discourses about consumers affect their identity construction? Which are important? How do men construct their consuming experiences? How does consumption context …

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Women In Prison: Do Visits From Children Influence Inmate Behavior?, Melissa Marie Cozad Jan 1999

Women In Prison: Do Visits From Children Influence Inmate Behavior?, Melissa Marie Cozad

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The number of women in prison is increasing at an alarming rate in the United States today. Because nearly 75 percent of incarcerated women are mothers of minor children, the issue of maintaining family relations deserves special attention. This study examines child visitation and its relationship to female behavior inside the priSon If women who receive visits adjust more easily to prison life, prison administrators would be wise to note these benefits; Data was collected at a private female prison in North Las Vegas, Nevada. Information on visitation and disciplinary infractions was gathered from inmate files and visitation records at …

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Henry Ford's Anti-Semitism: A Rhetorical Analysis Of The "Paranoid" Style, Jeffrey Brian Farrell Jan 1999

Henry Ford's Anti-Semitism: A Rhetorical Analysis Of The "Paranoid" Style, Jeffrey Brian Farrell

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The life and rhetoric of Henry Ford was examined in this study in order to gain an understanding why, and how, he propagated the longest running anti-Semitic campaign in history. A synergy of two existing theories in communication, Hofstadter (1966) and Smith (1977) provided the appropriate framework for this study. Their observations of high-profile figures being labeled as politically "paranoid" were adapted to Henry Ford. This thesis labels Ford as a "paranoid" by identifying that: (1) Ford perceived a conspiracy; (2) a crusade was needed to defeat the conspiracy; (3) Ford was a militant leader; and, (4) the enemy was …

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