Digital Commons Network^™

The End Of The Democratic Blue Wall?, Robert E. Lang, David F. Damore

Brookings Mountain West Publications

Heading into the 2016 presidential election, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton had multiple paths to secure the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the presidency. In contrast, Republican nominee Donald Trump’s path to the White House necessitated winning a number of large swing states and securing victories in states that had been reliably Democratic. Building from a prior Brookings Mountain West brief (Damore and Lang 2016), we consider how the Trump campaign, despite being vastly outspent, was able to use targeted online messages to activate “white identify politics”—long a staple of Republican politics in the South— in the non-metro areas …

Comparing The Administration Of University Cooperative Extensions In The United States: A Case Analysis, Fatma Nasoz, Robert E. Lang, William E. Brown Jr.

Lincy Institute Reports and Briefs

For more than a century, cooperative extensions and the land-grant universities have translated and extended research-based knowledge and provided non-formal higher education to their communities. Today, more than 80% of the nation’s population are living in urban areas (The World Bank, 2015). Challenges facing diverse populations require cooperative extensions to collaborate and form partnerships to leverage resources and expertise. This brief explores the nation’s Cooperative Extension System, in particular the university cooperative extensions run by 1862 Land-Grant Universities. Researchers developed an intrinsic case study design to examine cooperative extensions in 15 states and interviewed leaders of the cooperative extensions to …

Volume 2 Issue 2 - Front Matter

Journal of Solution Focused Practices

No abstract provided.

Emotional Labor: Surface Acting A Better Emotional Regulation Strategy For Dealers?, James Luverne Cox

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The performing of emotional regulation in the workplace, or emotional labor, has long been researched by scholars. The conclusion that most reached was that individuals performing this regulation were typically better off by changing their emotions felt to their emotions displayed, or what is termed as “deep acting”, rather than “surface acting”, or faking the emotion. This paper will further explore the thoughts behind this argument and propose that dealers that use deep acting are, in fact, more likely to experience emotional burnout due to the inability to constantly change inner emotional states. Additionally, the paper will also seek to …

A Performance Analysis Of Dorothy Rudd Moore's Sonnets On Love, Rosebuds, And Death, Cordelia Elizabeth Anderson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this document is to evaluate Dorothy Rudd Moore’s Sonnets on Love, Rosebuds, and Death through a performance analysis, and to discuss the significance of the Harlem Renaissance in relation to the song cycle. Moore used seven reputable poets from the Harlem Renaissance to compile this song cycle. The poets are Alice Dunbar Nelson, Clarissa Scott Delany, Gwendolyn Bennett, Langston Hughes, Arna Bontemps, Countee Cullen, and Helene Johnson. A few of them were a part of the core group that spurred this powerful movement. The Harlem Renaissance was a flourishing time in American history when African Americans felt …

Corporatized Higher Education: A Quantitative Study Examining Faculty Motivation Using Self-Determination Theory, Aaron Dale Brown

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The intent of this research is to offer a quantitative analysis of self-determined faculty motivation within the current corporate model of higher education across public and private research universities. With such a heightened integration of accountability structures, external reward systems, and the ongoing drive for more money and institutional prestige, this study examines faculty attitudes towards their work and the institution using Deci and Ryan’s (1985) self-determination theory (SDT).

Under the corporatized model of higher education, a gap is found in the literature that explores the role of SDT’s three innate needs (i.e., autonomy, competency, and relatedness) and their effect …

Andre Jolivet's Fusion: Magical Music, Conventional Lyricism, And Japanese Influences Network To Create Concerto Pour Flute Et Piano And Sonate Pour Flute Et Piano, Kelly A. Collier

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

André Jolivet’s Fusion, represents his formative style period, post-World War II. Fusion is a combination of Jolivet’s two earlier style-writing periods for flute, “magical music” and conventional lyricism. This study presents detailed analyses of two compositions reflecting this style period, Concerto pour flûte et piano and Sonate pour flûte et piano, by André Jolivet. In order to acquaint the reader with Jolivet’s interest in ancient musical cultures, a brief biography offers information on Jolivet’s interests in ancient rituals and mysticism. As appointed Director of the Comédie-Française in 1945, Jolivet extensively travelled and experienced new musical phenomena. These musical phenomena, Japanese …

Schoolgirls: Embodiment Practices Among Current And Former Sex Workers In Academia, Jennifer Heineman

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation looks at how marginalized people experience embodiment in intellectual spaces. By looking at the experiences of twenty current and former sex workers in academia, I find that individual actors practice two kinds of embodiment, what I label 1) fragmented (consciously separating erotic and intellectual work) and 2) confluent embodiment (making erotic and intellectual work more confluent). I find that embodiment practices change depending on the social context in which they occur. My findings expand the literature on embodiment and sociologies of the body for a more robust and fluid definition of the ways individual actors practice and reflect …

Globalization And The Rise Of Militant Islamic Social Movement Organizations: The Case Of Uamsho (Awakening) Group In Zanzibar., Deogratius Mshigeni

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation set out to explore how specific aspects of globalization affect the growth and development of particular militant neo-fundamentalist social movements and in what ways globalization affect the resources and collective identity of these movements. To examine this, I conducted ethnographic and archival research and in-depth interviews with 40 activists in the UAMSHO (AWAKENING) group in Zanzibar, which is associated with the rise of violent activities since the first multiparty elections, held in 1995. Most of these activities have been associated with the UAMSHO (AWAKENING) group, that adheres to strict neo-fundamentalist views of Islam, and which calls for Zanzibar …

The Intergenerational Effects Of Parental Divorce On Young Adult Relationships, Skyler William Roper

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Due to the current high rates of divorce, many young adults have experienced the effects of parental divorce. Although a variety of research has investigated both the positive and negative implications of divorce for individuals, relatively little research has looked at the relationship effects of parental divorce. Yet divorce likely influences both parent-child relationships (especially with a non-custodial parent) and young adult romantic relationships. The purpose of this study was to explore more fully how parental divorce affects young adult relationships by investigating the relationship between divorce and parent-child relationship quality, perceived comfort within close relationships (i.e., attachment), romantic relationship …

Image, Narrative, & Concept Of Time In Valerie Capers's Song Cycle Song Of The Seasons, Lillian Channelle Roberts

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Once I was a classical pianist, then I was a jazz pianist, but now I’m a pianist – No label. And in my writing, I’m not concerned with any particular style. I’ve found that if you have musical groundwork and some idea of the emotional impact the music should have, the musical style will hang together.

—Valerie Capers

Primarily known as a renowned jazz pianist, Valerie Capers is a blind, African-American woman composer who defied all odds by becoming the first blind graduate of The Juilliard School. Dr. Capers also became valedictorian of the New York Institute for the Education …

Bursting The Backpacker Bubble: Exploring Backpacking Ideology, Practices, And Contradictions, Mark J. Salvaggio

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In this dissertation, I discuss the growing development of international backpacking in Central America. I focus on backpackers because they are a significant, yet understudied and undertheorized, part of the newly mobile world. Drawing from more than 12 months of ethnographic data collected in Central America, I explore backpacking as a youth subculture. I used a subcultural framework to explain backpacking ideology, practices, and contradictions. Understanding backpacking as a youth subculture tells us a lot about the myths and realities of 21st century adventure in the context of global mobility, globalization, and economic changes in international tourism that shape what …

School Connectedness: Comparing Students With Emotional And Behavioral Disorders To Their General Education Peers, Robert Jordon Marsh

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

School connectedness is the extent to which a student feels that adults and peers on their school campus care about their behavioral and academic success as well as their overall wellbeing. School connectedness is comprised of four factors: (a) bonding, (b) attachment, (c) engagement, and (d) climate. Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) may experience difficulty with developing high levels of school connectedness, which may lead to engagement in health-risk behaviors.

The purpose of this study was to determine the levels of school connectedness of students with EBD and compare them to the levels of their general education peers. …

Please Select One: Availability And Accessibility Of University Services And Facilities For Genderqueer Individuals, Blaine Pennock, Georgiann Davis

McNair Poster Presentations

This project is a preliminary study seeking to fill a gap in the literature about the accessibility and availability of services and facilities for genderqueer individuals on U.S. university and college campuses.

Contextualizing Indian Gaming For The National Gambling Impact Study Commission, Laurie Arnold

Occasional Papers

This paper discusses the Indian Gaming Subcommittee of the National Gambling Impact Study Commission (NGISC). It illustrates the efforts tribes made to educate members of the NGISC about the positive impacts of Indian casino gaming, and it also highlights the resistance tribes faced from the NGISC.

In Print

UNLV Innovation

Conserving America’s National Parks: 1916-2016, Celebrating 100 Years of Conservation, Commitment, and Care Scott Abella, CreateSpace

Dress Casual: How College Students Redefined American Style Deirdre Clemente,University of North Carolina Press

Contesting Intersex: The Dubious Diagnosis Georgiann Davis, New York University Press

9/11 Fiction, Empathy, and Otherness Tim Gauthier, Lexington Books

An Enchanting Witchcraft: Masculinity, Melancholy, And The Pathology Of Gaming In Early Modern London, Celeste Chamberland

Occasional Papers

In seeking to illuminate the ways in which inchoate models of addiction emerged alongside the unprecedented popularity of gambling in Stuart London, this paper will explore the intersections between a rudimentary pathology of addiction and transformations in the epistemology of reason, the passions, and humoral psychology in the seventeenth century. By exploring the connections between endogenous and exogenous categories of mental illness, this study will examine the ways in which medicine, social expectations, and religion intersected in the seventeenth century alongside the historical relationship between evolving concepts of mental illness, stigma and the politics of blame and responsibility in the …

Making Cooperative Extension Work For Southern Nevada: Fulfilling Unlv's Urban Land Grant Mission, Robert Lang, Shannon M. Monnat, Fatma Nasoz, David F. Damore

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

The Lincy Institute and Brookings Mountain West at UNLV are pleased to host a colloquium entitled, “Making Cooperative Extension Work for Southern Nevada: Fulfilling UNLV’s Urban Land Grant Mission.” The event will explore ways to rethink and reform County Cooperative Extension so that it is relevant to the modern metropolis that is the Las Vegas area. The colloquium will feature research presentations that examine County Cooperative Extension from social, economic, and operational perspectives.

Sextortion: How Big A Problem Is It?, Benjamin Wittes

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

The word “sextortion” is a prosecutorial slang for a new kind of cybersecurity problem: the extortion of sexual conduct online by victims—often a great many of them—by means of threatening the release of sexually explicit images. A recent Brookings study reveals that sextortion is remarkably prevalent. We identified a large number of cases nationwide encompassing many thousands of victims. The justice department has identified sextortion as the most important and fastest-growing cyber threat to children, but many victims are also adult women. A discussion of recent research into a little-discussed cybersecurity threat: The ability to conduct sexual coercion at scale …

Play The Cards, Roll The Dice – The Integration Of Casinos Within Asian Tourism Destination Development Strategy, Glenn Mccartney

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

New Asian casino destinations continue to emerge and expand their gambling options. The historical rhetoric of being a panacea to economic and tourism woes continues to dominant decades later. Yet the excessive regulatory environments and taxation regimes by authorities on the casino industry are unlike those applied to other destination tourism products. Once the domain of the United States in the 1990s with entertainment capitals such as Las Vegas and Atlantic City, the proliferation of legalised casino gaming is now accentuated in Asia in destinations such as Macao, Korea, Singapore and the Philippines. As a tourism product, this article highlights …

Fundamental Researcher Attributes: Reflections On Ways To Facilitate Participation In Community Psychology Doctoral Dissertation Research, Renato M. Liboro, Robb Travers

Psychology Faculty Research

As novice researchers, Community Psychology doctoral students encounter fresh challenges when they attempt to facilitate participation by members of the community in their dissertation projects. This article presents the merit in adopting fundamental researcher attributes, which have been described in published academic literature as personal characteristics that facilitate participation by members of the community in research studies. The value of these researcher attributes is exemplified in the discussion of one of the author’s experiences in the early stages of his dissertation research process. This article also presents new researcher attributes for facilitating participation by community members that the author recognised …

Under The Radar: Policing Non-Violent Domestic Abuse In The Us And Uk, Amanda L. Robinson, Gillian M. Pinchevsky, Jennifer A. Guthrie

Criminal Justice Faculty Research

Physical violence is but one of many tools that may be used to gain greater power within intimate relationships, yet the legal response has been critiqued for failing to recognize and respond to the full spectrum of abusive behaviors, such as coercive control. Using a sample of police officers from the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK), the current study utilizes hypothetical vignettes to assess police officers’ perceptions of domestic abuse, including those incidents that are not necessarily physically violent, but involve stalking and other coercive, controlling behaviors that are harmful and require intervention. Within- and between-country similarities …

Paths To Innovation, Megan Downs, Robyn Campbell-Ouchida, Shane Bevell

UNLV Innovation

As uncertainties cloud the future of funding support for higher education, UNLV’s ability to market its intellectual property becomes ever more crucial. Three projects provide textbook cases for how it’s done.

• Kwang Kim
• Mark Yoseloff
• Bryan Spangelo

Research Briefs

UNLV Innovation

• Switch SUPERNAP, Intel Partner with UNLV to Boost Scientific Research and Economic Development
• How Long Is It Safe To Stay In Space?
• “Exquisitely Preserved” Fossil Find Sheds Light on a Distant Era
• Graduate Programs Earn High Marks from U.S. News
• Southwest Found To Be Among the Most “Climate-Challenged” Regions in the Nation
• Public Weighs in on Pros and Cons of Unmanned Aerial Systems
• Historical Nevada Newspapers To Be Digitized Through NEH Grant
• Earth’s Most Plentiful Mineral Finally Makes an Appearance
• $1.4 Million Grant To Expand Clinical Social Work Education & Research
• Researchers Employ Bluetooth Technology In Blood-Flow Sensor

Neoliberalism’S Market Morality And Heteroflexibility: Protectionist And Free Market Discourses In Debates For Legal Prostitution, Barbara G. Brents

Sociology Faculty Research

In August of 1999, not too long before narratives of sex trafficking began to dominate prostitution policy debates, the residents of a small town in Nevada debated closing the city’s legal brothels. Citizens crowded the hearing hall, holding signs about protecting family and community values. But instead of opposing prostitution, as one might have expected, most public commenters echoed a sign that read, “Pro Family, Pro Prostitution.” Drawing on an analysis of the testimony of the 51 citizens in attendance at that public hearing and ethnographic data gathered in four visits to Evenheart over a one-year period, this paper examines …

The Lived Experiences Of Women In The Information Technology Field As They Transition From One Leadership Level To The Next: A Phenomenological Study, Marilyn Delmont

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

There is an increasing disparity of women in the IT field, when compared to men, specifically within IT executive leadership roles. The number of women in IT executive leadership lags drastically behind men IT executives and has gone down by five percent since 2008. Despite significant growth in the IT field women are not growing with it. IT jobs are expected to increase by 1.5 million in the next decade. The purpose and central question of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of women and how they develop as IT leaders. Beginning with 19 broad questions, …

A Multiple Case Study Analysis Of Mentor-Mentee Perception Of The Effectiveness Of Self-Disclosure In The Field Experience, Khaled Ismail Alnajjar

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

During the field experience, the mentors and preservice teachers share personal and professional experiences on a daily basis. This process of information sharing is seen critical to the mentoring relationship development and preservice teachers’ learning to teach. This qualitative study investigates the mentor-mentee perception of the effectiveness of self-disclosure in the field experience. Data was collected from two mentor teachers and three preservice teachers through three different phases and via triangulated sources: semi-structured interviews, direct observation, and focus group interview. Moreover, the findings were reported based on the three themes that are related to research questions: topics and purposes of …

Secondary Preservice Teacher Expectations Of The Principal's Role In New Teacher Induction, Matthew C. Nishimoto

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The three concurrent conceptualizations of induction include a phase in teacher development; a process of socialization; and the formal, programmatic structures. A major challenge faced by the beginning teacher during induction is reconciliation of expectations and realities. School leadership, through establishing and fostering an induction-conducive school culture, ultimately crafts effective induction. Using a paradigm and historical lens, current trends (the “fifth wave”), role theories, and a grounded theory methodology, this study examined the nature of expectations that preservice teachers hold regarding school principals through investigating from where, how, and why these expectations develop. The research design was a three-phase (conceptual …

Reader Engagement With Data Journalism: Comparing The Guardian And Washington Post's Coverage Of People Killed By Police, Dan Michalski

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The issue of people killed by police has become a focus of current political and social discourse related to criminal justice reform in the United States. Two data journalism projects attempting to track previously missing data have been central to a changing discussion. The Guardian’s The Counted and The Washington Post’s Investigation: Police Shootings have each attempted to create a running log of fatalities resulting from law enforcement activities. Such endeavors have added to a collective consciousness about the scope and commonality of deadly police encounters, and has provided empirical reference points for various legislative pushes related to police accountability. …

Self-Care And Mobility Disability At Mid-Life In Lucky Few, Early-, And Late-Baby Boom Birth-Cohorts, Carlos Siordia

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Disability is related in definite ways with makers of social stratum, as it can be influenced by and has the potential to contribute to the production and reproduction of social stratification. Intersectional markers of social stratification processes are ignored determinants of health. The Class, Race, Sex (CRS) hypothesis presented here argues that a low-education, racial-minority, and female disadvantage will compound to affect the prevalence and risks of disability. The evidence presented validates the CRS hypothesis by showing that disability prevalence and risk clusters first by class, race, and then sex. The cross-sectional study of community-dwelling adults in the Unites States, …