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Restoration Of Biological Soil Crust On Disturbed Gypsiferous Soils In Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Eastern Mojave Desert, Lindsay P. Chiquoine

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Biological soil crusts (BSCs) are sensitive to anthropogenic disturbances. Natural recovery takes many years. Active restoration decreases recovery time. Native BSC inocula, which included lichens and mosses, salvaged from gypsiferous soil habitats in Lake Mead National Recreation Area (LMNRA) in the eastern Mojave Desert were stored dry for two years and applied to disturbed soil after a road reconstruction in LMNRA and also used in laboratory experiments to test inoculation technique effectiveness. After 18 months, field results revealed positive relationships between inoculation and the presence of macroscopic BSC cover, cyanobacteria abundance, soil stability, and ammonium concentrations. Chlorophyll fluorescence monitoring of …

Volcanic Evolution Of The Southern Quinn Canyon Range: Implications For Regional Correlation Of Volcanic Units, Christina Emery

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The southern Quinn Canyon Range lies in an area of the Great Basin subjected to large-volume Oligocene-Miocene silicic volcanism and smaller volume basaltic volcanism during the Pliocene. Three major ash-flow tuff units were correlated in the southern Quinn Canyon Range (the Pahranagat Tuff, Clifford Spring Tuff, and the Cow Canyon Tuff) with regional units by utilizing U/Pb and 40 Ar/ 39Ar geochronology, geochemical correlation, and field mapping. Isotopic analysis suggests that basalt in the southern Quinn Canyon Range is part of the Death Valley-Pancake Range Basalt Zone and is similar to Reveille Range Episode 1 and 2 basalts. Further comparison …

Detrital Carbonates In A Sequence Stratigraphic Framework: An Example From The Furongian Slope Environment In The Hot Creek Range Of Central Nevada, Leon Taufani

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

An integrated sedimentological study of detrital carbonates of the late Cambrian (Furongian) Hales Limestone in central Nevada was conducted in order to model facies distribution and controlling mechanisms of carbonate gravity-flow deposits. Seven closely-spaced sections and numerous traceable short sections were measured to investigate temporal and spatial changes of detrital carbonates within a high-resolution stratigraphic framework supported by biostratigraphic and carbon isotope chemostratigraphic constraints and by key physical surfaces. Polished slabs and thin section petrographic analysis were used to identify micro- and macro-scale textures and diagenesis.

Ten lithofacies are identified from the Hales Limestone. Lateral tracing of these facies reveals …

Sustainability Program For Rio Secco Golf Club And Cascata, Jay Chiders

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Caesars Entertainment is focused on building loyalty and value with its guests through a unique combination of great service, excellent products, operational excellence, and technology leadership. Caesars is committed to environmental sustainability and energy conservation and recognizes the importance of being a responsible steward to the environment. Sustainability at Caesars Entertainment integrates strategic direction with the energy, innovation, and passion of its 70,000 employees. These employees are what drive Caesars Entertainment’s comprehensive sustainability strategy, CodeGreen (CodeGreen factsheet, 2012).

Caesars Entertainment Corporation owns two golf courses in Nevada. Rio Secco Golf Club opened in 1997 in Henderson and Cascata opened in …

Statistical Analysis Of A Vehicle Miles Travled Fee For Nevada, Andrew Nordland

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Increases in the number of electric, hybrid-electric, and other alternative fuel vehicles, combined with increasing vehicle fuel efficiency present problems with the ability of the fuel tax to collect sufficient revenue. A Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) Fee is being considered as an option to replace the existing fuel tax for the collection of revenue for road maintenance, reconstruction and expansion. This study provides an analysis about costs, preference of a potential billing cycle, level of comfort with a mileage collection device, potential changes in transit use, and the effectiveness of a VMT Fee for Nevada. Multinomial logit models are developed …

Paleoseismic Study Of The Stewart Valley And Northern Pahrump Segments Of The Stateline Fault System, Nevada, Jonathan Carter

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Stateline fault system (SFS) is a ~200 km long zone of dextral faults running NW along the NV/CA border from Primm, Nevada to Amargosa Valley in the western Central Basin and Range province (CBR). Because of size and proximity, the SFS poses a hazard to the 2.5 million people, most of who live within 10 km, in Pahrump, Nevada and within 40 km, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The goals of this thesis are to (1) understand if the SFS is accommodating faulting slip change in the CBR; (2) test the along strike continuity of the SFS in Pahrump and …

Implementing A State Lottery In Nevada, Benjamin K. Boulton

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this study is to assess the feasibility of implementing a state lottery in Nevada and to present the benefits of a state lottery for both the Nevada hospitality industry and the Nevada economy. It will compare and contrast the arguments for and the arguments against a lottery by executing a content analysis of existing research literature as well as other relevant publications. It will also examine the history of lotteries, the states that border Nevada and have lotteries and the legislative history of lottery proposals in Nevada.

Why Access Barriers To Primary Care Exist For People With Mobility Disabilities: A Mixed Methods Study Of Health Care Administrators, Jennifer Renee Pharr

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Previous studies have been conducted to assess the barriers that limit access to health care services for people with disabilities. However, no study has been conducted to understand why barriers exist. Do practice administrators lack knowledge of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or is cost the issue? The purpose of this study was to examine why structural and equipment barriers exist that limit access to primary health care for people with disabilities.

A convergent parallel mixed methods design was employed. Practice administrators were selected for this study because of their oversight of the budget, equipment purchasing, facility operations and …

Muddy Creek Formation: A Record Of Late Neogene Tectonics And Sedimentation In Southern Nevada, Thomas William Muntean

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Late Neogene Muddy Creek Formation (MCF), exposed in the vicinity of Lake Mead in southern Nevada, represents the youngest widespread Cenozoic sedimentary sequence in the region and is the focus of this study. Historically, the MCF has been largely ignored, with limited previous studies providing only regional-scale constraint on the age, stratigraphy, and mode of deposition for the formation; resulting in a data gap for our understanding of the Late Cenozoic tectonic and sedimentological evolution of southern Nevada.

A Flower Blooms In The Desert: Managing For Collaboration, Josphine Gatti Schafer

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This is a dissertation about local, regional and federal agencies charged with the development of parks, trails and natural areas in Southern Nevada. The context for the delivery of this service is a network. Networks are an increasingly common context for service delivery in the United States; however, their value for constituents has been questioned. Some suggest that the advantages of capacity building and social capital that are expected when organizations work across their typical boundaries are not as significant as expected. This dissertation provides knowledge to add to this debate.

The dissertation is an in-depth case study that evaluates …

Program Evaluation Of Stroke In Rural Nevada Hospital, Starla Cheri Ricks

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The overall goal of this Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) scholarly project is to complete a program evaluation using the Centers of Disease Control (CDC) Framework for Program Evaluation to measure the effectiveness of a stroke protocol in a rural Nevada hospital. This (DNP) scholarly project evaluates program strategies over third and fourth quarters of 2010 as well as the first, second, and third quarters of 2011, that have been initiated to reduce the burden of neurological disease with the application of a stroke protocol that complies with defined evidence-based strategies for assessment and management of stroke victims. As part …

Burial And Exhumation History Of Mississippian Strata In East-Central Nevada, Yuki Yunika Agulia

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Zircon (U-Th)/He analyses and vitrinite reflectance (Ro) analyses were performed on a suite of Mississippian sedimentary rocks collected in east-central Nevada in order to test Permian exhumation described in a previous study.

The zircon analyses produced three clusters of ages: 1) older than, 2) similar to, and 3) younger than depositional age. The majority of zircons shows ages that are older than the sandstone deposition age. Young ages were recorded in three localities that may indicate reset ages/residence within the (U-Th)/He partial retention zone (HePRZ). Moderate-high ratios of Th/U may indicate a magmatic source. Vitrinite reflectance (Ro) analyses show values …