Digital Commons Network^™

A Qualitative Examination Of Barriers And Motivators To Smoking Cessation Among Hiv Positive African American Msm Smokers, Alicia Kaye Matthews, Maria Vargas, Lisa Kuhns, Nitin Shappiva, Andrea C. King

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Purpose: To identify barriers and motivators to smoking cessation among HIV-positive African American men-who-have-sex with men (MSM) who smoke.

Procedures: A convenience sample of smokers was recruited for this study using a range of outreach approaches. Focus groups (N = 4) were conducted that examined: quit experiences, barriers to and motivators of cessation, cultural beliefs, and community norms. Established qualitative methods were used to conduct and analyze the focus groups.

Main Findings: Participants (N = 31) reporting being diagnosed with HIV+ for M = 12 years. More than 60% reported a quit attempt in the past year. Knowledge was about …

Trends And Disparities In Tb Among U.S.-Born Black And White Chicago Residents, 1998-2008, Susan A. Lippold, Lori Armstrong, Jennifer M. Carter, Xiomara Hardison

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To describe the decline of tuberculosis (TB) cases among U.S.-born non-Hispanic (NH) black and white Chicago residents.

METHODS: Data from the National TB Surveillance System was used to analyze trends and characteristics of reported TB cases among U.S.-born NH black and U.S.-born NH white Chicago residents from 1998-2008.

RESULTS: Chicago reported a total of 3,821 TB cases over the 11-year time period. Of these, 1,916 were U.S.-born NH black and 235 were U.S.-born NH white. The proportion of cases attributable to U.S.-born NH blacks was 63% (294/469) in 1998 and 34% in 2008 (72/213). Analysis for trends from …

Gendered Violence, Hiv Acquisition, And Clinical/Behavioral Research, Liz Barr, Michele Peake Andrasik, Claire Rappoport, Jessica Mooney, Annet Davis Vogel, Lisa Rossi, Amina Alio

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

HIV incidence and prevalence rates for US women continue to increase, especially among Black and Latina women. In addition, the link between violence and HIV acquisition has been well documented. However, the interaction between violence, HIV risk, and HIV acquisition remains an under-addressed issue in current clinical and behavioral HIV research designs. Because violence against women plays an important role in HIV acquisition and transmission, it is imperative for clinical research to address violence in trial design and implementation. In this article, we discuss the prevalence of violence in women’s lives; the role violence plays in HIV acquisition; and the …

Supporting Community Transformation: Becoming A Community-Engaged Academic Library, Patrick Griffis

Library Faculty Presentations

• Community engagement and service as third mission
• Targeting who to engage in community
• Community organization needs
• Academic library community services
• Benefits of community engagement
• Challenges of community engagement
• Supporting infrastructure
• Community engagement strategies
• Supporting community engagement initiatives of academic institution
• Co-curricular experiential learning community projects
• Service learning courses
• Small business development centers
• Developing academic library community outreach initiatives
• Going out to the community
• Bringing the community in the library
• Business by the book workshop series
• Following up & closing the loop
• Communicating the value of community engagement initiatives

Failed States And The Origins Of Violence: A Comparative Analysis Of State Failure As A Root Cause Of Terrorism And Political Violence, Tiffiany O. Howard

Political Science Faculty Research

What makes a terrorist? Is an individual inherently predisposed to be attracted to political violence or does exposure to a certain environment desensitize them in such a way that violence represents a viable mode for addressing political grievances? Identifying state failure as the impetus for political violence this book addresses these questions and focuses on why existing extremist groups find failed states so attractive. Utilizing global barometer data, Tiffiany Howard examines the underpinnings of individual support for political violence and argues that an insidious pattern of deprivation within failed states drives ordinary citizens to engage in and support extreme acts …

Mountain Monitor - 1st Quarter 2014, Kenan Fikri, Mark Muro

Mountain Monitor Quarterly

The quarter’s Mountain Monitor finds that the rate of economic recovery in the major metropolitan areas of the Mountain West is no longer impervious to national trends.

The previous edition of the Mountain Monitor observed that the regional rate of recovery seemed to be converging toward that of the nation. This edition of the Mountain Monitor suggests that the trend has progressed further.

The rate of economic recovery broadly slowed across the region from the fourth quarter of 2013 to the first quarter of 2014, just as it did nationally. The national headlines in the first three months of the …

Learning From Las Vegas: Gambling, Technology, Capitalism, And Addiction, David T. Courtwright

Occasional Papers

Gambling has always led to addictive behavior in some individuals. However, the number and types of addicted gamblers have changed over time and in response to specific gambling environments. Recent work by historians, journalists, and anthropologists, reviewed in this paper, suggests that the situation worsened during the modern era, and that it has become worse still during the last half century. Technological, organizational, and marketing innovations have “weaponized” gambling, increasing both the likelihood that people will gamble and that they will gamble compulsively—a phenomenon with parallels to several other consumer products, including processed food, digitized games, and psychoactive drugs.

Eyes On Casino Gaming In China: Residents' Attitudes Toward Casino Gaming Development In Sanya City, A Pre-Casino Establishment Analysis, Omar Moufakkir, Dallen Timothy

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

While Macau offers world class casinos, casino gaming is not legalized in Mainland China. Current media reports, however, indicate a growing interest by the Chinese government in establishing casinos in the Hainan Province. This study assesses the perceptions of residents about potential gaming development in their community. Resident attitude surveys have been used by planners and policymakers in order to gain local support for tourism projects and initiatives. A series of hypotheses were tested. In particular, the study evaluates the difference in perception between tourism workers and non-tourism workers, residents who live in the city center where the casino development …

Gravity Models And Casino Gaming: A Review, Critique, And Modification, Clyde W. Barrow, David R. Borges

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

Gravity models have been widely used in expanded gaming debates to persuade investors that proposed casinos will be financially successful and to persuade state and local government officials, as well as a skeptical public, of the economic and fiscal benefits of casino gaming. However, most people involved in the decision-making process understand very little about the internal mechanics of these models and how they generate financial forecasts, estimates of customer visits, and projections of new job creation. In fact, the gravity models used in market feasibility studies for the casino industry are proprietary models that remain closely guarded secrets of …

Family-Friendly Las Vegas: An Analysis Of Time And Space, Diana Tracy Cohen

Occasional Papers

This paper explores the rise and fall of the “family-friendly” Las Vegas marketing era. Through analysis of casino advertisements, internal and external building infrastructure, and qualitative in-depth interviews with industry insiders, this work investigates the city’s reinvention of the early 1990s. Key factors that set the stage for the emergence of targeted family marketing are identified, addressing why this advertising approach ultimately did not sustain. Unique marketing case studies are identified throughout.

The Case For A New College Governance Structure In Nevada: Integrating Higher Education With Economic Development, Magdalena Martinez, David F. Damore, Robert Lang

Lincy Institute Reports and Briefs

As Katz and Bradley (2013) document, the confluence of partisan politics and budget cuts have left the federal government and to a lesser extent, state governments impotent to address the countless economic and education challenges facing the United States. Out of necessity, metros and regions are taking the lead in collaborating, innovating, and governing in Post-Recession America. Instead of waiting for federal or state governments to impose prescriptive, one-size fits all “solutions,” localities are seizing opportunities to strengthen their economies by working with stakeholders to develop policies tailored to their unique and complicated needs.

A Spatial Analysis Test Of Decennial Crime Patterns In The United States, Kristina R. Donathan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Crime in the United States has steadily been decreasing since the 1990s. Social disorganization theory states that breakdowns of social institutions were the root causes of juvenile delinquency. Using exogenous variables of poverty, residential mobility, and ethnic heterogeneity, this study aims to investigate the impacts and magnitude of these variables on violent and property crime committed in the United States for adults and for juveniles. By comparing adult crime rates to juvenile delinquency rates, these findings will guide policy makers to develop effective policy tools that will provide a safer environment for the community. Using annual crime datasets, this thesis …

The Role Of Self-Concept In Consumer Behavior, Marisa Toth

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Understanding the influences underlying consumption has become an increasingly important goal for marketers. This study examined the role of self-concept in consumer behavior, specifically product evaluation. The influences of various dimensions of the self-concept are examined in regard to four product dimensions: public luxury, public necessity, private luxury, and private necessity. Differences due to variations in individual levels of self-monitoring are also measured. Overall, results showed that the more conspicuous a product is (higher on luxury/public dimensions) the greater the relationship between evaluation and ideal self-images (ideal self and ideal social self) for both high and low self-monitors.

Runnin' With The Rebels: A Phenomenological Analysis Of The Experiences Of Highly Identified College Student Sports Fans, Joseph Stanley Ervin

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Intercollegiate athletics are integrated into the American system of higher education. College student sports fans are abundant, and in identifying with their university's marquee sports team, make up an interesting portion of collegiate culture. There is a lack of qualitative research on college student sports fans, and a need to understand the phenomenon of college student sports fandom at a deeper level than is currently available in the scholarly literature. Thus, this phenomenological analysis sought to discover college student sports fans' experiences.

Students who are highly identified with UNLV's Runnin' Rebels men's basketball team were interviewed. The purpose was to …

A Model Of Hospitality Employee Engagement, Hee Jung Kang

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study focuses on employee's state-like psychological resources by investigating individual and organizational antecedents to employee engagement and valued human resource outcomes. The purpose of this study was to develop and test a theoretical model that explains the interrelationships among six constructs and to explore the mediating effects of employee engagement. Structural Equation Modeling using AMOS (18.0) statistical software was used to test the full structural model (measurement and structural model) of the hypothesized relationships among the variables with a sample of hospitality employees. The findings supported all hypothesized relationships except the direct relationship between employee engagement and turnover intention. …

Revenue Management In A Multi-Channel Environment: The Effect Of Pricing Strategies On Perceived Fairness, Lan Jiang

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The rapid development of technology has made the hotel booking process become easier and more convenient, but it has also made hotel revenue management practices become more complex. Researchers have noticed the issues caused by perceived fairness. Yet, only a few studies have examined the impact of the pricing strategies over perceived fairness. Furthermore, no previous research study has examined Best rate guarantee (BRG), rate disparity, and rate frame together and investigated the interaction effects among these strategies on perceived fairness.

This study aims to examine the potential effects of three revenue management pricing strategies (BRG, rate (dis)parity, and rate …

Interorganizational Performance Comparisons Using Quality Assurance Audit Results, Raymond E. Keeler

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) of 1993 requires government agencies to conduct performance measurements of their contractors for purposes of evaluation and comparison. To be most meaningful, performance comparisons need to consider all relevant characteristics that are of importance to the agency. Yet, bounded rationality theory states that managers of complex programs may have insufficient time and resources to consider all potentially relevant factors. Therefore, metrics used for decision making need to incorporate all relevant factors before the information is provided to decision makers.

Over the last several decades, government agencies have increasingly identified Quality Assurance compliance as …

Sentiments Of Community Stakeholders Living In Southern Nevada Neighborhoods, Erin Sheehy

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Community stakeholders provided insight to their local neighborhoods and shared their thoughts about the potential redevelopment of their neighborhoods. This study utilized data from the Southern Nevada Strong ethnographic research project. Ethnographic research was conducted over ten weeks in Summer 2013. Neighborhood observations and interviews with community stakeholders were conducted to understand how neighborhoods are utilized, how residents feel about potential redevelopment, and what areas of the neighborhoods residents would like to see improved in the future. Photographs were also collected to further examine the characteristics, aesthetics, and spatial landscape of the neighborhoods. The purpose of this qualitative research project …

Family Environment And Severity Of Absenteeism In Youth, Rachel Marie Loftis

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The current study examined the relationship between family environment and severity of youth absenteeism in clinical and community settings. Previous researchers have adopted a categorical approach to investigating the role of family environment in problematic absenteeism by diving youth into discrete categories and these studies are almost exclusively conducted in clinical settings. The current study contributes to the literature by adopting a dimensional approach that examines the impact of family environment on problematic absenteeism across diagnostic and functional categories.

The first aim of the study was to determine the family environment characteristics most predictive of absenteeism severity. The first hypothesis …

High Stakes Of Media Messages: Decoding Visual Narratives From The Iraq War In The U.S. And British Presses, Jennifer Liese

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This research analyzes media coverage of the Iraq War from the perspective of the invading forces, the United States and the United Kingdom. The New York Times and The Guardian were chosen to represent news from their respective countries because of their high circulation rates and international prestige for journalistic reporting. The study focuses on how the Iraq War was visually represented after the Iraq invasion of 2003, examining periods in 2006 and 2011. There were significant differences in how The New York Times and The Guardian visually portrayed the war in 2006, especially in terms of Iraqi civilian and …

"I Got Shot Five Times And I Got Crucified To The Media": Tupac Amaru Shakur -- Moral Panic, Media Crucifixion And Resurrection, Lucas Jerome Combs

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This thesis looks at why the media had and continues to have a fascination with the late rap artist Tupac Amaru Shakur. A content analysis of coverage from twelve newspaper publications was used to better understand the nature of the coverage on Shakur. Analysis of coverage after Shakur's death determines the tone of coverage varied from the coverage when the rapper was alive. The concept of moral panic explains media attitude.

Dmitri Shalin Interview With Angelo A. Alonzo About Erving Goffman Entitled "I Asked Goffman If He Had Time And He Said “No” But If I Wanted To Talk As He Ran A Couple Of Errands On Telegraph Ave I Was Welcome To Come Along", Angelo A. Alonzo

Bios Sociologicus: The Erving Goffman Archives

Dr. Angelo A. Alonzo, professor of sociology at the Ohio State University and Yale University, wrote this memoir for the Erving Goffman Archives at the request of Dmitri Shalin and approved posting the present version on the web.

Exploring The Community Factor Of Economic Resiliency, Al G. Gourrier

Graduate Research Symposium (2010 - 2017)

Resilience takes on many different meanings, but when we speak of the resilience of a market we are generally referencing the capability of that market’s capacity to respond, regroup and move forward, usually after an event or series of events that impede or encumber a market’s economic sustainability. The outcomes of a stable and performing market are indicated by its economic performance. Using economic indicators as a base, this study analyzes three markets as they recover from destabilizing events and attempt to respond, regroup and move forward. The study analyzes the Las Vegas, New Orleans and Detroit markets from an …

Comparing Perceptions Of Motivation To Change: Clinicians Versus Their Substance-Abuse Clients, Arthur Tabrizi

Graduate Research Symposium (2010 - 2017)

Although some clients enter treatment voluntarily to seek intervention for their substance abuse problems, most enter under coercive external pressures that may be perceived by clinicians as less influenced by addressing substance abuse than by appeasing mandates from the judicial system, family, or employers. Little research has examined and compared how clinicians assess clients’ extrinsic and intrinsic motivation to change as opposed to how the clients assess themselves. A congruency between the two parties’ assessments may inform the quality of the therapeutic relationship and facilitate an effective treatment plan. Using the Circumstance, Motivation, and Readiness Scales (CMR) and availability sampling …

Long May She Reign: A Rhetorical Analysis Of Gender Expectations In Disney’S Tangled And Disney/Pixar’S Brave, Caitlin J. Saladino

Graduate Research Symposium (2010 - 2017)

This project addresses messages about gender expectations in Disney princess narratives. The two films included in my project are Tangled (2010) and Brave (2012), which feature the most recently inducted princesses to the marketed Disney Princess line (Rapunzel and Merida, respectively). Using genre as an organizing principle, I argue that Rapunzel and Merida are different from the past Disney princesses (Snow White, Cinderella, Ariel, Jasmine, etc.) because their narratives reflect new ideas about gender expectations in modern society. The central tension appearing in both films is the opposition between the image of woman as traditional, domestic, and dependent and woman …

Acceptability Of Sexting In Same-Sex Relationships, Carly Shadid, Katherine M. Hertlein, Sarah M. Steelman

Graduate Research Symposium (2010 - 2017)

For individuals who identify as part of the LGB community, the Internet can be seen as a tool to take control of their lives, may promote self-esteem, and foster a sense of belonging. The purpose of the study was to learn about sexting practices on college campuses. It builds on the existing body of knowledge by attending specifically to sexting rather than the previous literature about engagement in sexual behavior online (see, for example, Daneback, Cooper, & Månsson, 2005). Findings indicated that sexting is viewed as more acceptable in same sex relationships as compared to heterosexual relationships.

Gilded Age Visual Media As The Impetus For Social Change: Jacob Riis’S Reform Photography And The Antecedents Of Documentary Film, Denitsa Yotova

Graduate Research Symposium (2010 - 2017)

This study examines the birth and evolution of the social documentary genre in visual media. It suggests that a mixture of ideology, technology, and social awareness are necessary for a successful social reform. It finds that despite the limitations of technology during the nineteenth century, social documentaries were produced long before they were part of the genres of photography and film. By focusing on the work of Danish photographer Jacob Riis and tracing the emergence of film, this study demonstrates a connection between documentary film and Riis’s social documentary photography and public slide exhibitions. The study concludes that in order …

Family-Farm Therapy: An Urban Therapy Clinic To Address The Multifaceted Needs Of Multi-Stressed Families And Their Surrounding Communities, Felisa M. Huene

Graduate Research Symposium (2010 - 2017)

Family-Farm Therapy incorporates a therapeutic clinic within an urban farming community site, and focuses on multi-stressed family systems and the larger community system. The goal is for systemic change within the family and the community by creating positive relationships and personal acceptance. Farming has traditionally been a family endeavor which makes it a unique environment to be utilized as metaphors for family systems, their interactions, behaviors, and structure. Multi-stressed families have socioeconomic hurdles that complicate their ability to adjust to change and crisis in their family. Farming addresses such hurdles by offering economic sustenance, increased physical health, and community acceptance. …

The Rhetoric Of Gay Christians: Matthew Vines And Reverend Nancy Wilson As Exemplars, Josu Miller

Graduate Research Symposium (2010 - 2017)

In the United States, there is a perception that the gay rights debate situates Christians against gay rights advocates. According to this perception, Christians oppose gay rights, because the Bible condemns homosexuality as a sin, and those who support gay rights do so using purely secular arguments. This perception of the gay rights debate is flawed and overly simplistic, because simply not all Christians oppose gay rights. In fact, there are multiple interpretations of biblical texts that support homosexuality and have caused a gay rights debate within the church that is as complex and intricate as gay rights debate outside …

The September 12, 2012 Rose Garden Address: President Barack Obama’S “9/11” Moment, Michael Eisenstadt

Graduate Research Symposium (2010 - 2017)

Albert Einstein once said memory is deceiving given it is colored by the events of today. The old adage “history repeats itself” fails to illustrate the powerful capacity for memory to sustain and revise historical events. Presidents often inject memories of the past into public address to define troubling situations in ways that broad, national audiences can make sense of them. Barack Obama’s Rose Garden Address rejuvenates and exploits the public memory of September 11 in three ways: by (1) situating the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi as an extension of its timeline; (2) reaffirming the identity of …