Digital Commons Network^™

Graduate Student Impairment: The Impact On Counselor Training Programs, Molly R. Wolf, Susan A. Green, Thomas H. Nochajski, Kathleen A. Kost

Journal for International Counselor Education

This article focuses on the issue of student impairment in graduate level counselor training programs and the factors that affect it, including: A definition of graduate student impairment; the prevalence of student impairment in counselor training programs; an explanation of the legal consequences when addressing student impairment; organizational issues in universities dealing with this issue; and, the impact of graduate student impairment on the counseling professions.

Developing An Action Learning Community Advocacy/Leadership Training Program For Community Health Workers And Their Agencies To Reduce Health Disparities In Arizona Border Communities, Kenneth A. Schachter Md, Mba, Maia Ingram Mph, Laurel Jacobs Drph, Mph, Hannah Hafter Mph, Jill Guernsey De Zapien Ba, Scott Carvajal Phd, Mph

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Community health workers (CHWs) make unique and important contributions to society. They serve as patient advocates, educators, and navigators in our health care system and a growing body of research indicates that they play an important role in the effective delivery of prevention and treatment services in underserved communities. CHWs also serve as informal community leaders and advocates for organizational and community change, providing valuable insiders' insights about health promotion and the interrelatedness of individuals, their community, its institutions, and the surrounding environment. Accion Para La Salud or Action for Health (Accion) is a CDC-funded community based participatory research (CBPR) …

Integrating Start-Up Companies Organizational Structure In A Business Intelligence Team Environment, Patrik Balint

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Perceptions Of Hospital Patient Safety Culture In Department Of Veterans Affairs Station 593 Southern Nevada, Kimberly Falco

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Opportunities for error exist, adverse events occur, and challenges endure. However, patients will continue to experience preventable adverse events unless steps are taken. Efforts to improve patient safety are critical to today's healthcare environment. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) believes that the identification of adverse events allows for creation of system improvements to increase patient safety.

Implementing safety culture requires a proper assessment of existing barriers and potential challenges. Patient safety culture assessments start by evaluating the current patient care environment. This assists the organization in identifying barriers to patient safety and in working toward creating a culture of …

Team Policing Revisited: A Quasi-Experimental Evaluation In Las Vegas, Nevada, Natalie Nicole Martinez

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In 1967, the President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice recommended team policing, which involves the decentralization of patrol officers and investigators to the same, defined geographical area, as a way to more effectively organize police officers and improve crime control. Despite initial enthusiasm from police officers and administrators, team policing quickly faded from use during the 1970s because its design was incompatible with the centralized model of policing prevalent at that time. However, the implementation of community-oriented policing, which promotes various organizational changes and the use of problem-focused strategies, has changed police departments in recent years and …

Development And Implementation Of A Quality Improvement Initiative: Systematic Follow-Up Of Patients Who Have Spinal Cord Stimulator Implants, Irina Rajala

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Recent medical advances and the rising prevalence of chronic pain in the US population contribute to the use of spinal cord stimulator (SCS) implant as a treatment modality for chronic pain management. As the numbers of patients receiving SCS implants steadily increases, the challenge of managing this device grows and the need for SCS implants follow-up programs rises. Follow-up programs need to focus on implant longevity and efficacy to improve the quality of care outcomes.

This Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) quality improvement initiative was developed to provide systematic follow-up for patient with SCS implant. The project includes the creation …

Comparison Of Study/Article Characteristics And Methodological Quality Of International Nurse Workplace Violence Research Published Before And After The Joint Commission Sentinel Event Alert On Disruptive Behaviors, Terressa Margarette Stowell Love

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Purpose: The majority of new nurses experience workplace violence from other nurses. The purpose of this study was to compare study/research characteristics and methodological quality of international nurse workplace violence research published before and after the 2008 release of the U.S. The Joint Commission (TJC) sentinel event alert on disruptive behaviors.

Methods: Thirty-nine quantitative nurse workplace violence research articles published between 2001 and 2012 were assessed and divided into two groups: articles published (a) before the 2008 TJC sentinel event alert or the same year, i.e., 2001-2008 (BTJC) and (b) after the 2008 TJC sentinel event alert, i.e., 2009-2012 (ATJC). …

Implementing A Bystander Awareness Program On A University Campus, Robert Joseph Vadovic

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Between 17% and 62% of college students experience some form of violence during their time at school. About 25% of female college students experience a sexual assault before graduating. One university had seen an increase in violence, including assaults and bias events. Administrators and nurses implemented a bystander awareness program to help alleviate this growing problem. Members of the college's residence life staff and its Greek organizations (fraternities and sororities) participated in the Step Up program, a prosocial training program to get people to intervene safely when witnessing acts of violence. Participants (N=236) completed surveys prior to the program, immediately …

Sickle Cell Disease: A Quality Improvement Initiative For Emergency Department Providers, Pretrescia Marie Walker

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is an incurable, chronic condition that results in a constellation of disorders, frequent emergency department (ED) visits, and repeated hospital admissions. Those affected often suffer from pain crisis, infection, acute chest syndrome, stroke, and multi-organ impairment and frequently do not receive adequate pain management during acute pain episodes because ED providers view them as drug seeking. The majority of patients with SCD are African-American and may be low income, uninsured, or on Medicaid. As a result, these demographics make ED under-treatment of pain in patients with SCD a health equity issue. This was a pre-experimental one …

Score Reliability And Factor Similarity Of The Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-3 (Sataq-3) Among Four Ethnic Groups, Cortney S. Warren, David H. Gleaves, Liya M. Rakhkovskaya

Psychology Faculty Research

Background:This study evaluated the score reliability and equivalence of factor structure of the Sociocultural Attitudes towards Appearance Questionnaire-3 (SATAQ-3) [1] in a sample of female college students from the four largest ethnic groups in the USA.Methods:Participants were 1245 women who self-identified as European American/White (n = 543), African American/Black (n = 137), Asian American (n = 317), or Latina/Hispanic (n = 248). All completed the SATAQ-3 and a demographic questionnaire. To test the factor similarity and score reliability across groups, we used exploratory factor analysis and calculated Cronbach’s alphas (respectively).Results:Score reliability was high for all groups. Tests of factor equivalence …

An Examination Of Mississippi Gulf Coast Casino Management Styles With Implications For Employee Turnover, Jerome Agrusa, Joseph D. Lema

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of casino employees on management styles and the relationship of these perceptions on the employee turnover rate. The sample consisted of a balanced representation of supervisory and nonsupervisory employees. Supervisors tended to perceive themselves and their managerial style in a much move favorable light than did their employees. Future research should continue to address issues of employee retention in the casino industry and adopt strategies that can retain valuable employees while reducing employee turnover costs. Human resource development processes should support managerial styles that facilitate collaborative decision making and participative …

Change Management: Antecedents And Consequences In Casino Crm, Sudhir H. Kale

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) continues to attract increasing attention within the casino industry. While the vital role of change management in making CRM projects successful has been acknowledged for quite some time, there is little in extant literature to explain the nature and conduct of change management in the CRM context. This article posits that relevant change management is a prerequisite for successful implementation of a casino's CRM. Change management involves five key initiatives: selling change internally, creating an appropriate infrastructure for change management, CRM-relevant training, a reconfiguration of the organization structure and performance assessment measures, and recasting existing incentive …

Crm In Gaming: It's No Crapshoot!, Sudhir H. Kale

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

CRM, or Customer Relationship Management, though slightly more than a decade old, has become the management craze of the 21st century. Yet, managerial understanding of what CRM is, what it does, how to implement it, and the grounds for success or failure in CRM implementation, seem far from crystallized. This paper looks at why so many CRM endeavors fail, and proceeds to discuss issues critical to CRM's success. CRM projects in casinos will have a higher chance of success if CRM is viewed as a business philosophy and becomes a part of the corporate culture. Appropriate customer strategy, organizational transformation, …

Closing Up Shop: Meditations On The Departmental/Programmatic Elimination Experience, Susan Beth Donoff

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Departmental and programmatic eliminations represent a new paradigm in the history of American higher education. Hastened by a national economic recession and competing state funding priorities, public post-secondary institutions have turned to academic attrition as a solution to continuous budgetary shortfalls. As a means of addressing the lived experience of faculty members and department chairs, the following qualitative case study explores perceptions of implementing departmental and/or programmatic eliminations.

Utilizing uncertainty reduction theory as a conceptual framework, interviewed faculty in saved units experienced considerable strategic uncertainty, failing to understand why they had been selected for elimination. Guided by a college-wide strategic …

Examining Competencies For The Human Resources Professional Within Idaho State Government, Cecil R. Torres Jr

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study examines the vital competencies of the Human Resource (HR) professional within Idaho state government. Through the lens of comparability and factor analysis, the competencies examined in this study utilize the Human Resource Competency Survey (HRCS) study framework as a basis for study. Since the HRCS model was primarily designed for the private sector, this study examines these study findings in light of public services on a state government level.

This study establishes a competency model that the human resource professional in state level government can use in various facets related to their individual performance, training and development, recruitment, …

Leading Transformational Change In A Large Urban School District, Leslie Jean Brinks

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This abstract reflects the findings of the understanding of the skills necessary to lead transformative change in a non-affluent neighborhood in a large urban district. Current research and understandings of transformative leadership has been limited to traits and organizational concepts rather than the work associated with transforming schools. Studies seldom addressed if leaders even valued the actions central to transformative work or if they have the capacity and expertise to do the task. The purpose of this study was to understand the kinds of knowledge, skills, and dispositions that support what is viewed as transformative leading. Additionally the inquiry probed …

Comparing Public And Private Institutions That Have And Have Not Implemented Enterprise Resource Planning (Erp) Systems: A Resource Dependence Perspective, Geetha Rathna Sendhil

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this national study was to utilize quantitative methods to examine institutional characteristics, financial resource variables, personnel variables, and customer variables of public and private institutions that have and have not implemented enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, from a resource dependence perspective. Resources were examined within the context of resource dependency theory as it relates to organizations seeking to manage their environments by: using strategies to enhance their autonomy and pursue their organizational interests; acquiring, maintaining and controlling critical resources from the environment, and understanding that social context matters in the relationship between organizations and their external environment. …

Construct And Criterion Validity Of The Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test-Spanish Version In Adults With Traumatic Brain Injury, Cristobal Neblina

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) is among the most commonly used English-language neuropsychological tests of verbal learning and memory. Previous research supports the validity and clinical utility of adaptations of the RAVLT into many diverse languages. In the United States, Hispanics represent the largest and fastest-growing ethnic minority group. As the Hispanic populace continues to grow, so does the need for empirically validated Spanish-language neuropsychological measures. In 2002, a Spanish adaptation of the RAVLT was developed in Puerto Rico (Acevedo-Vargas, 2002). However, validation studies have not been undertaken with clinical samples, and little is known regarding its psychometric …

Eliminating Racial/Ethnic Health Disparities: Reconsidering Comparative Approaches, Shawn M. Bediako, Derek M. Griffith

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

The focus on eliminating racial/ethnic health disparities has brought critical attention to the poor health status of minority populations. Assessing the health outcomes of racial minority groups by comparing them to a racial majority standard is valuable for identifying and monitoring health inequities, but may not be the most effective approach to identifying strategies that can be used to improve minority health outcomes. Health promotion planning models and public health history both suggest that minority health promotion is more likely to be derived from interventions rooted in culturally and historically grounded contextual factors. In this essay, we highlight limitations of …

Counselor Development In The Process Of Mastering Cultural Competence: A Study Of Professional Growth Experiences, Marie Antoinette Wakefield

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Grounded theory methodology was employed to explore the experiences of counseling professionals as they work to develop a higher level of cultural competence. Three key findings support the core theme, navigating change toward cultural competent practices: 1) environmental awareness; 2) dispositions toward the development in cultural competency knowledge, and skill; and 3) systemic factors that influence cultural competency and growth. This study provided perspectives from those who work in the trenches, who are struggling to ensure that practices, instructional experiences, policies and procedures, and current research promote culturally competent practices. The results offer greater insight into the teaching practices, learning …

The Acquisition Of Cultural Competence: A Phenomenological Inquiry Highlighting The Processes, Challenges And Triumphs Of Counselor Education Students, Douglas L. Garner

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Although research has effectively isolated and identified the key characteristics of a culturally competent counselor, there are few studies regarding the acquisition of these characteristics. To close the gap between theory and practice, studies are needed researching the emergence and, acquisition of these characteristics. This study explores how Masters-level Counselor Education students narrate the encounters, challenges, triumphs and epiphanies associated with their preliminary attempts to practice in a culturally competent manner. This phenomenological inquiry seeks to shed light students attitudes, beliefs and dispositions; defines the processes related to the acquisition of cognitive awareness and learning, skills and abilities; and illuminates …

Leadership Practice In Elementary School Dual Language Programs: A Collective Case Study, Joanie K. Monroy

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Research in effective programming for English language learners has demonstrated the efficacy of dual language education as a model for closing persistent achievement gaps for this growing population of students. With goals of high academic achievement, linguistic proficiency in two languages, and cross-cultural proficiency, dual language education is an enrichment model of education that eschews the deficit thinking often associated with language-minority students. Based on the promise of enriched education for all participants, the number of dual language programs is increasing nationwide. As districts across the United States plan for the implementation of dual language programs, identifying effective leadership practices …

Creating A Hospitality Leadership Development Training Program For A Country Club, Joan Ho

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to design a hospitality leadership development training program for a medium sized country club.

Statement of Objective: This paper will present a set of guidelines for creating and implementing an effective hospitality leadership development program for the country club and subsequently implemented for other hospitality and tourism organizations. The leadership development training program aims to attract the employees to retain in this trade. Therefore there is clearly a need for the hospitality and tourism industries to understand what constitutes effective leadership and how it can be achieved. Different definitions of leadership and important …

Government Contracting: How To Tackle Rapid Growth And Hiring For Conference And Event Planner Positions, Karen Francisco

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This paper plans to explore the issue of how conference project managers and other leaders working in government contractor positions can best approach the issue of rapid growth and hiring individuals for event and conference planning roles. In order to more thoroughly explore this problem, this paper will employ several strategies.

High School Graduation And Dropout Rates In Nevada, Tiffany G. Tyler, Sandra D. Owens

Social Health of Nevada Reports

The causes and consequences of high school dropout rates are multifaceted and of great importance to society, and that is why this problem has been the subject of close scrutiny by educators, researchers, administrators, politicians and laypersons. Experts do not always agree on the nature of this social problem, but they have pinpointed its economic and social costs, identified key risk factors, and outlined most promising policy options for improving high school graduation rates in our society.

A Case Study Of Organizational Change: College Restructuring In Response To Mandated Department Eliminations, Brandy Dyan Smith

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Faced with unprecedented budget cuts, Western University had implemented vertical cuts in the Spring of 2010 resulting in the elimination of two departments within their College of Education. Western University was not alone in its struggle. Institutions nationwide were coping with similar financial constraints, with freezes, consolidations, and eliminations becoming commonplace and threatening institutional quality.

The issue of how colleges and the leaders, groups, and individuals within them cope, process, and reorganize following eliminations has quickly gained importance, although there are few empirical studies to guide such changes. The existing literature on restructuring, particularly adaptability and change processes, has focused …

Change Is Learning: Metacognition To Resolve Concerns During The Third Year Of The Implementation Of A Technological Innovation, Nola Allen-Raffail

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

"We are living in a time of change. Rather than viewing change as a painful course of action, let's develop an understanding of how it works, how to facilitate the process, and how to learn from our experiences" (Hall & Hord, 2011, p. 18).

This study used a snapshot of a private Kindergarten-12^th grade school during the third year of the implementation of a technological innovation (RenWeb) to investigate teacher concerns during the process of change and gain insights into individuals' use of metacognition to resolve those concerns. Two primary research instruments were used, the Stages of Concern Questionnaire …

School Counselor Assignment In Secondary Schools: Replication And Extension, Jennifer L. Williamson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Before school counselors can carry out the duties and responsibilities outlined as part of a comprehensive school counseling program, they must know which students they are responsible for helping. The topic of assigning students to school counselors has only recently been seen in the educational research arena in a study by Akos, Schuldt, and Walendin (2009). The current study attempts to replicate and extend the findings of Akos, Schuldt, and Walendin by addressing the questions of how secondary school counselors are assigned and what are their perceptions of their assignment. In addition, the study attempts to determine whether a particular …

Premier, Judy Nagai, Robyn Hadden, Marian Alper, Carolyn Linck, Robyn Campbell-Ouchida, Afsha Bawany, Jae Hyo Park, David Mikowski, Erica Bobak, Jennifer Weinman

Premier: The Magazine of the UNLV Harrah Hotel College

No abstract provided.

To Start A Hospitality Student Investment Club At Schenectady County Community College, Regina A. Mintzer

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Statement of objective

The objective of this paper is to demonstrate the needs for investment knowledge at an early age, understand the power of financial independence for a successful future, explore the employment opportunities associated with participation in a campus investment club, and implement an investment club on a college campus targeted to hospitality industry students.