Digital Commons Network^™

The Criminalization Of Homelessness, Sarah Mckenzie Prather

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The current study is an analysis of the problem of homelessness in American society today. It focuses on the demographic characteristics of the homeless in addition to some of the contributing factors that explain homelessness. Of particular concern is how the criminal justice system responds to homelessness, including the criminalization and stigmatization of homeless individuals and the implications of such a response. The data used in this study come from a recent survey conducted in a jail setting in a northwest city. The present study compares those who have been homeless at one time or another and those who have …

Nevada Interagency Volunteer Program: Helping Hands Across Public Lands – Phase Ii: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Covering January 1– March 31, 2010, Margaret N. Rees

Get Outdoors Nevada

• The number of records in the volunteer database increased by 2% over the last quarter. The database now contains 6,179 records.
• Website activity remains secure, recording an average of 97,141 hits per month and an average of 9,227 pages viewed per month.
• Volunteer fall training has been completed.
• Volunteer spring training has been scheduled.
• The Interagency Volunteer Program supported 21 events.
• The 21 events posted on GON recruited 1,038 volunteers which resulted in 4,680 volunteer hours contributed to helping to protect our public lands.

Southern Nevada Agency Partnership Cultural Site Stewardship Program – Program Expansion And Steward Retention: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Ending March 31, 2010, Margaret N. Rees

Cultural Site Stewardship Program

• Two basic site steward classes were held this quarter adding 36 new cultural site steward volunteers

• CSSP awarded “Preserve America Steward Award”

• CSSP stewards were requested to document BLM sites

• Stewards completed two of four documentation projects for NPS

“It’S Only A Theory": Science, Religion And Attitudes Toward Evolution, Linda A. Lockett

Political Science Faculty Research

The controversy over evolution is a long standing one in American politics. The issue is often depicted as a conflict between science and religion. In this paper the effects of confidence in science and confidence in religion on attitudes toward human evolution are estimated. Bivariate analysis shows that confidence in science is positively related to belief in human evolution, while confidence in religion has a negative relationship. However, these effects become very weak when controls for religious beliefs and affiliation are imposed. Religious variables, rather than attitudes toward science, seem to be the main sources of attitudes toward evolution.

Erving Goffman In Toronto, Chicago And London, Elizabeth Bott-Spillius

Bios Sociologicus: The Erving Goffman Archives

Dr. Elizabeth Bott Spillius wrote this memoir at the request of Dr. Ruth Horowitz and approved posting the present version in the Goffman Archives.

Building More Inclusive Organizations Initiative: Evaluation Report, Alma Galvan, Lisa Larocque, The Learning Community

Education about the Environment

The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UW-SP) has been collaborating with Intercambios, a binational, bicultural consulting group, to advance the cultural relevance of environmental education (EE). Cultural relevance, or inclusiveness, requires deep reflection about one’s own values and behaviors and a long-term commitment to shifting organizational practices.

The “Building More Inclusive Organizations Initiative” was designed to capture the concerns and problem-solving processes of organizations as they worked toward becoming more inclusive. From 2007 through 2009, UW-SP and Intercambios created a Learning Community with Eco Education in St. Paul, MN; Partners in Environmental Cultural Connectedness (PECC) in Las Vegas, NV; and the …

Dmitri Shalin Interview With Gino Segre About Erving Goffman Entitled "As We Were Leaving The Tennis Court, Erving Told Me, “You Were Wrong. Nothing In Life Is Casual”", Gino Segre

Bios Sociologicus: The Erving Goffman Archives

This conversation with Professor Gino Segre, University of Pennsylvania, was recorded over the phone on February 23, 2010. After Dmitri Shalin transcribed the interview, Dr. Segre edited the transcript and approved posting the present version on the web. Breaks in the conversation flow are indicated by ellipses. Supplementary information and additional materials inserted during the editing process appear in square brackets. Undecipherable words and unclear passages are identified in the text as “[?]”.

Dmitri Shalin Interview With Ruth A. Wallace About Erving Goffman Entitled "Goffman Really Was Going Out Of His Way To Help People Who Were Different", Ruth A. Wallace

Bios Sociologicus: The Erving Goffman Archives

This conversation with Dr. Ruth Wallace, Professor Emerita of George Washington University, was recorded over the phone on January 11, 2009. After Dmitri Shalin transcribed the interview, Dr. Wallace approved posting the present version on the web. Breaks in the conversation flow are indicated by ellipses. Supplementary information and additional materials inserted during the editing process appear in square brackets. Undecipherable words and unclear passages are identified in the text as “[?]”.

Mountain Monitor-4th Quarter 2009, Mark Muro, Jonathan Rothwell

Mountain Monitor Quarterly

The Mountain West’s recovery from the Great Recession is spreading. Output is growing in every metropolitan area. Still, hiring remains elusive—a fact frustrating the entire nation, but perhaps more so in a region used to snapping, even roaring, back from recessions faster than the rest of the nation. Drawing on data covering the fourth quarter of 2009 (ending in December), this new Mountain Monitor—a companion product to Brookings’ national MetroMonitor and a quarterly resource produced by Brookings Mountain West, a partnership between Brookings and the University of Nevada at Las Vegas—surveys a region that is at once recovering and still …

Las Vegas Metropolitan Area Social Survey 2010 Highlights, Robert Futrell, Christie D. Batson, Barbara G. Brents, Andrea Dassopoulos, Chrissy Nicholas, Mark J. Salvaggio, Candace Griffith

Reports (USI)

UNLV sociologists conducted the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area Social Survey (LVMASS) to identify the socio-spatial distribution of attitudes and attributes relevant to urban sustainability in the Las Vegas Valley. The project goal is to understand how Las Vegas residents think about urban sustainability issues across three dimensions: 1) natural environment; 2) community and quality of life; 3) economy.

Analysis Of Primary Risk Factors For Oral Cancer From Us States With Increasing Rates, Anthony Bunnell, Nathan Pettit, Nicole Reddout, Kanika Sharma, Susan O'Malley, Michelle Chino, Karl Kingsley

School of Public Health Faculty Research

Objectives

To examine the primary risk factor for oral cancer in the US, smoking and tobacco use, among the specific US states that experienced short-term increases in oral cancer incidence and mortality.

Methods

Population-based data on oral cancer morbidity and mortality in the US were obtained from the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database for analysis of recent trends. Data were also obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) to measure current and former trends of tobacco usage. To comprehensive measures of previous state tobacco use …

Dmitri Shalin Interview With Jane Allyn Piliavin About Erving Goffman Entitled "Toward The End Of The Party Erving Said To My Husband, “Why Are All These Smart People Doing Such Stupid Things?”", Jane Allyn Piliavin

Bios Sociologicus: The Erving Goffman Archives

This conversation with Dr. Jane Allyn Piliavin, Conway-Bascom Professor Emerita of Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, was recorded over the phone on December 29, 2009. After Dmitri Shalin transcribed the interview, Dr. Piliavin edited the transcript and approved posting the present version on the web. Breaks in the conversation flow are indicated by ellipses. Supplementary information and additional materials inserted during the editing process appear in square brackets. Undecipherable words and unclear passages are identified in the text as “[?]”.

Dmitri Shalin Interview With Magali Sarfatti-Larson About Erving Goffman Entitled "Goffman Was One Of The Most Memorable People I Have Met In The Academia Because He Was Not An Academic", Magali Sarfatti-Larson

Bios Sociologicus: The Erving Goffman Archives

This conversation with Dr. Magali Sarfatti-Larson, Professor Emeritus at Temple University, was recorded over the phone on December 9, 2009. After Dmitri Shalin transcribed the interview, Dr. Sarfatti-Larson edited the transcript and approved posting the present version on the web. Breaks in the conversation flow are indicated by ellipses. Supplementary information and additional materials inserted during the editing process appear in square brackets. Undecipherable words and unclear passages are identified in the text as “[?]”.

Native Americans And Ranchers (Rural Nevada), Karletta Chief, Ahmad Safi, Zhongwei Liu, William J. Smith

2010 Annual Nevada NSF EPSCoR Climate Change Conference

31 PowerPoint slides Convener: William Smith, UNLV Session 3: Policy, Decision Making, and Outreach Abstract: -Survey: Socioeconomic characteristics, cc perceptions, and relations with nature. -IRB approved work generated in new cc lab. -Packages: 4 pg back-to-back survey, holiday card with local pic, hand-signed personalized letter and a self-add. pre-paid return env. -A list of almost all Nevada ranchers and farmers 1893) were collected from a partner academic institution. -Packages sent on Dec. 29, 2009 -Till now we have approximately 300 (16%) returned surveys and 2 returned packages because of changing career

Research Poster: Nevada System Of Higher Education College Student Climate Change Survey, Jenna Zulauf, Robert Futrell

2010 Annual Nevada NSF EPSCoR Climate Change Conference

Research poster

Seeking Value Or Entertainment? The Evolution Of Nevada Slot Hold, 1992-2009, And The Slot Players’ Experience, David G. Schwartz

Occasional Papers

Since the advent of the current economic decline, speculation about the impact of “tighter” slot machines on gaming revenues and visitation patterns has been rife. Indeed, it is easy to make an intuitive link between higher slot hold percentages—that ultimately make the slot playing experience either shorter in duration or more costly, or both—and declines in revenue, handle, and visitation. But examining the slot hold percentages and slot denomination mix in the context of the changes in slot technologies over the years 1992 to 2009, it becomes apparent that there was no sudden arbitrary decision by slot managers to increase …

We Are In This Ridiculously Long Line, And Erv Says, "I Can't Believe We're Standing In Line With All These Pricks.", Mark Piliavin

Bios Sociologicus: The Erving Goffman Archives

Mark Piliavin, son of Irving Piliavin, Erving Goffman’s colleague and friend, offered this memoir and approved its posting in the Goffman Archives.

Take Pride In America In Southern Nevada: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Covering October 6, 2009 – January 5, 2010, Margaret N. Rees

Anti-littering Programs

• The team completed their strategic plan and submitted it to the SNAP board for review.

• Work continued on the development of an adopt-a-block/parcel program to address the litter and desert dumping problems that exist in the urban-public land interfaces throughout Clark County.

• The team representative on the City of Las Vegas Keep America Beautiful task force is serving as the group’s chairperson.

• The Howard Hughes Corporation desert clean-up collaboration was a success.

• The working model of the GPS unit to be used by volunteers for the GIS database project was field tested.

• Phase III …

Indigenous Health – Australia, Canada, New Zealand And The United States - Laying Claim To A Future That Embraces Health For Us All., Lisa Jackson Pulver, Melissa R. Haswell, Ian Ring, John Waldon, Wayne Clark, Valorie Whetung, Dianne Kinnon, Catherine Graham, Michelle Chino, Jonathon Lavalley, Christina Compher, Ritu Sadana

School of Public Health Faculty Research

Improving the health of all peoples has been a call across the globe for many decades and unfortunately remains relevant today, particularly given the large disparities in health status of peoples found around the world. Rather than differences in health, or health inequalities, we use a different term, health inequities. This is so as mere differences in health (or "inequalities") can be common in societies and do not necessarily reflect unfair social policies or practices. For example, natural ageing implies older people are more prone to illness. Yet, when differences are systematic, socially produced and unfair, these are considered health …

Clean, Green, And Not So Mean: Can Business Save The World?, Andy Spackman, Celia Ross, Christy Donaldson, Louise Feldman, Patrick Griffis, Elizabeth Stephan, Laurie Bridges, Baseema Krkoska, Tony Lin, Mark Siciliano

Library Faculty Research

No matter how you define it, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a hot topic. From community investing to business ethics to environmental sustainability and beyond, proponents of CSR view the business landscape through a lens that focuses less on profitability and more on the greater good.

“Doing well by doing good” is the business world’s new mantra. Concepts of CSR, green business, social entrepreneurship, and peace through commerce have become a focus of research and are inspiring the next generation of businesspeople. The 2010 BRASS Program gave attendees an expert’s view of certain niches within the broader realm of ethical …

Pay It Forward: Career Advice From An Aspa Member, Christine G. Springer

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Research

As a practitioner, a business woman and an academic in the public service, I often serve on interview panels and also am asked to assist students and practitioners with getting or changing their job in these challenging times. I have discovered that many qualified workers are changing jobs and changing organizations and that doing so successfully requires that they focus on what they truly want to do with their lives. When I have conversations with students and new and experienced professionals about moving ahead in their careers, I usually attempt to get them to focus on the following five key …

Undergraduate And Graduate Programs In Environmental Science At Unlv, Scott R. Abella

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Research

The School of Environmental and Public Affairs at UNLV houses B.A. and B.S. degrees in Environmental Studies and M.S. and PhD degrees in Environmental Science. These degrees are flexible, multi-purpose, interdisciplinary programs that can be tailored for both breadth and depth.

Gendered Disparities In Take-Ups Of Employee Health Benefits, Jennifer Reid Keene, Anastasia H. Prokos

Sociology Faculty Research

Using a sample of 2,271 workers from the 2002 National Study of the Changing Workforce whose employers offered personal health insurance, this article investigates the gendered nature of health insurance benefit take-ups. These analyses include family and employment characteristics in addition to employers’ contributions to health insurance premiums, a measure that is unexamined in sociological analyses of health benefits. Progressive logistic regression models predict the effects of gender and family characteristics. Results indicate that women with employed spouses are less likely to take up their own health benefits than are comparable men, net of basic employment characteristics. Gender differences disappear, …

Informal Assessment For Library Middle Managers, Jeanne M. Brown

Library Faculty Research

Library middle managers juggle a variety of responsibilities. They are responsible for supervisory tasks such as coaching and team building. They are responsible for the service their unit provides or the output of their unit. They report up the organization and are responsible for planning for efficiency and quality. They manage those who report to them as well, motivating and mobilizing. Underlying all of these responsibilities is the need for sound decision making, based on data and a steady supply of information.

/="/">The growing literature on classroom and library assessment simultaneously offers useful ideas for gathering data, and provides …

Mojave Applied Ecology Notes Winter 2010, Scott R. Abella, E. Cayenne Engel

Mojave Applied Ecology Notes

Native species interactions with red brome (Bromus rubens), undergraduate and graduate programs at UNLV, what’s growing in the greenhouse?

Nevada Interagency Volunteer Program: Helping Hands Across Public Lands – Phase Ii: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Covering October 1, 2009 To December 31, 2009, Margaret N. Rees

Get Outdoors Nevada

• The number of records in the volunteer database decreased by 14% over last quarter. The database now contains 5,996 records.
• Website activity increased, recording an average of 121,918 hits per month, an increase of 8% from last quarter, with an average of 9,686 pages viewed per month.
• Volunteer fall training has been completed.
• One hundred and twenty-seven people attended the Volunteer Recognition Event.

Southern Nevada Agency Partnership Cultural Site Stewardship Program – Program Expansion And Steward Retention: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Ending December 31, 2009, Margaret N. Rees

Cultural Site Stewardship Program

• A total of 25 stewards initiate Abandoned Mines survey for NP
• CSSP stewards record Grapevine Canyon near Laughlin
• CSSP recognition event draws 103 participants

Dmitri Shalin Interview With Dean Maccannell About Erving Goffman Entitled "Some Of Goffman’S Guardedness And Verbal Toughness Was Simply A Way Of Giving Himself The Space And Time That He Needed To Do The Work That He Really Loved", Dean Maccannell

Bios Sociologicus: The Erving Goffman Archives

This conversation with Dean MacCannell, Professor of Environmental Design at the University of California Davis, was recorded over the phone on July 7, 2009. The initial exchange lasting a minute or so is reconstructed from memory. Breaks in the conversation flow are indicated by ellipses. Supplementary information and additional materials inserted during the editing process appear in square brackets. Undecipherable words and unclear passages are identified in the text as “[?]”.

Usability As A Method For Assessing Discovery, Thomas A. Ipri, Michael A. Yunkin, Jeanne M. Brown

Library Faculty Research

The University of Nevada Las Vegas Libraries engaged in three projects that helped identify areas of its website that had inhibited discovery of services and resources. These projects also helped generate staff interest in the Usability Working Group, which led these endeavors. The first project studied student responses to the site. The second focused on a usability test with the Libraries’ peer research coaches and resulted in a presentation of those findings to the Libraries staff. The final project involved a specialized test, the results of which also were presented to staff. All three of these projects led to improvements …

Mountain Monitor-3rd Quarter 2009, Brookings Mountain West

Mountain Monitor Quarterly

Nationwide, the recession is technically over. Or at least that is the view of most economists. They note that real U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) finally expanded in the third quarter of 2009, growing at a 2.8 percent annual rate after four consecutive quarters of contraction. They point to a significant slowing of job losses in November, rising housing prices, and a slight downtick in unemployment as other positive signs. Their conclusion: Economic recovery is at last underway. And yet, the pace of renewal seems tentative and its geography patchy. Most notably, the aggregate national story of recovery and expansion …