Digital Commons Network^™

The Positive And Negative Economic Contributions Of Mega-Sporting Events To Local Communities, Qi Gong

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this paper is to identify and examine the factors of mega-sporting events those contribute to positive economic impact as well as the factors that may negatively impact a community. Based on reviewing existing literature and data, the positive and negative contributions, a community may have through a hosting sporting event, will be discussed. The objective of this paper is focused on the economic impact that happened to the local communities.

Environmental Impact Of The Three Kids Mine Tailings, Henderson, Nv, Ji Hye Park

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This research focused on the distribution of the Three Kids Mine tailings in surface soils in and around the mine in Henderson, Nevada. It is situated next to the communities of Calico Ridge and Lake Las Vegas Resort, and, just the west of the Lake Mead Recreation area. Even though the mine has been inactive for almost 50 years (1917-1961), tailing piles and other sources of contamination on the mine are currently exposed to the atmosphere. In this study, surface soil samples were collected along eight transects emanating from the center of Three Kids Mine tailing piles up to five …

Spectroscopic Studies Of Melamine At High Pressure, Martin Donald Galley

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

We have performed mid- and far- Infra Red (IR) absorption, Raman spectroscopy, and angular dispersive x-ray diffraction (XRD) studies on melamine under high pressure and room temperature. We have verified the presence of two prior reported phase transitions, the first between 1-2 GPa, and the second between 7-9 GPa. We have also found evidence of a third unreported phase transition between 14-16 GPa, during which, there was a sudden disappearance of all low energy peaks (^-1 ) in both the Raman and IR spectra. The far-IR peak movement experiences a discontinuity as the rate of peak movement suddenly changes. …

Processj: A Process-Oriented Programming Language, Matthew Sowders

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Java is a general purpose object-oriented programming language that has been widely adopted. Because of its high adoption rate and its lineage as a C-style language, its syntax is familiar to many programmers. The downside is that Java is not natively concurrent. Volumes have been written about concurrent programming in Java; however, concurrent programming is difficult to reason about within an object-oriented paradigm and so is difficult to get right.

occam -π is a general purpose process-oriented programming language. Concurrency is part of the theoretical underpinnings of the language. Concurrency is simple to reason about within an occam -π application …

Boundary Element Method (Bem) And Method Of Fundamental Solutions (Mfs) For The Boundary Value Problems Of The 2-D Laplace's Equation, Ermes Anthony Salgado-Ibarra

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In this thesis we study the solution of the two dimensional Laplace equation by the boundary Element method (BEM) and the method of fundamental solutions (MFS). Both the BEM and MFS used to solve boundary value problems involving the Laplace equation 2-D settings. Both methods rely on the use of fundamental solution of the Laplace's equation (the solution of Laplace's equation in the distributional sense). We will contrast and compare the results we get using the BEM with results we get using the MFS.

What Is Mission Critical In The Hotel Guest Room: Examining In-Room Guest Empowerment Technologies, Pelin Nasoz

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study examined 18 in-room technologies and identified the ones perceived to be mission critical for the hotel guests. It also determined the differences in guest empowerment technology preferences and expectations across generations, purpose of travel, and travel frequency. Moreover, it investigated whether the quality of in-room technologies impacts guests' decision in choosing a hotel.

The data were collected through an online survey. A total of 508 people responded to the survey. An importance and performance analysis was utilized to identify the mission critical in-room technologies for the hotels. The analysis indicated that in-room movie on demand services, in-room wireless …

Electrochemistry Of Pani/Metal Composites In Basic Solutions, Tamthinhan Quy

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Polyaniline (PANI) has been extensively investigated due to its unique conductivity, which is primarily dependent on the oxidation state of the material and the solution pH. PANI is an insulator when it is oxidized, and the solution pH exceeds four. Numerous attempts to extend PANI's conductivity to neutral and alkaline environments have been unsuccessful. However, our previous study has demonstrated that PANI/Pd composite is conductive and catalytically active in a basic solution, pH ∼ 12. Therefore, the conductivity and the electrochemical properties of PANI composites including PANI/Au, PANI/Pd and PANI/Pt were evaluated in basic solutions. The fundamental studies of PANI/metal …

Study Of Feature Selection Algorithms For Text-Categorization, Kandarp Dave

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This thesis will discuss feature selection algorithms for text-categorization. Feature selection algorithms are very important, as they can make-or-break a categorization engine. The feature selection algorithms that will be discussed in this thesis are Document Frequency, Information Gain, Chi Squared, Mutual Information, NGL (Ng-Goh-Low) coefficient, and GSS (Galavotti-Sebastiani-Simi) coefficient . The general idea of any feature selection algorithm is to determine importance of words using some measure that can keep informative words, and remove non-informative words, which can then help the text-categorization engine categorize a document, D , into some category, C . These feature selection methods are explained, implemented, …

Effect Of Toothbrush Abrasion On Frictional Resistance Of Aesthetic Orthodontic Archwires, Stephen Alexander Yamodis

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Fixed orthodontic appliances (braces) are one of the most widely used appliances to correct malocclusion, however many patients prefer less metal display. To meet this demand more esthetically pleasing brackets and archwires have been developed. These esthetic components are often clear, white or tooth colored. Coatings of various types are commonly used to produce an esthetic archwire. However, these coating materials tend to wear and degrade, which may cause binding and increased resistance to friction, thereby potentially reducing the efficiency of tooth movement. Therefore, in vitro testing of tooth brush abrasion on frictional resistance of various aesthetic archwires was tested. …

Examining Experience In Depressed And Nondepressed Individuals, Jedidiah D. Gunter

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The inner experience of nine depressed and nine nondepressed individuals was explored using Descriptive Experience Sampling. Each participant completed four days of descriptive experience sampling, exploring about six moments of their inner experience on each sampling day. Although the Depressed participants self-reported substantially higher levels of depressive symptomatology on the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale (CES-D) on each day of sampling, the differences in the frequency of depressive symptomatology in the inner experiences of these two groups were not statistically significant. Despite the group differences not reaching statistical significance, the Depressed group experienced somewhat more frequent moments of depression, …

Modeling And Control Of A Flexible Ionic Polymer Metal Composite(Ipmc) Actuator For Underwater Propulsion, Shivakanth Gutta

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The goal of this research is to model and control the underwater vehicle propelled by IPMC actuator. IPMC consists of an ionic membrane sandwiched between two metallic electrodes. When an external voltage is applied, IPMC undergoes large deformation due to transport of ions. Due to its ability to work in aqueous environments, it can be used for developing small scale underwater vehicles.

First, Finite element approach is used to describe the dynamics of the both single and segmented IPMC actuator. In the approach presented, each element is attached with a local coordinate system that undergoes rigid body motion along with …

Determining The Validity Of The Nintendo Wii Balance Board As An Assessment Tool For Balance, Sabrina Mae Deans

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Context. Application of the Nintendo Wii-fit balance board and its games have been used in Physical Therapy clinics, showing success in individuals with neurological disorders, and has been recommended as a minimum baseline assessment of a symptoms checklist and standardized cognitive and balance assessments for concussion management by the NCAA. However, it still faces challenges of being considered a reliable and consistent tool for producing normative data in the allied healthcare. Because there is little to no evidence for the Wii-fit balance board as a valid balance assessment tool for clinical and/or research usage, the significance of this study is …

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 …

An Assessment Of Medical Care Provided By Nevada's High School Athletic Programs, Brooke Allen-Burnstein

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Even with preventative measures, injuries are inherent in sports. Almquist (2001) indicated that almost 60 percent of athletic injuries occur during practices. The American Medical Association recommends that all high schools establish an athletic medical team, but the National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) has estimated that only 42% of all high schools in the United States have access to a certified athletic trainer. In 2002, a NATA inter-association task force created the Appropriate Medical Care for Secondary School-Aged Athletes (AMCSSAA) Consensus Statement, which outlined the minimum standards for health care for adolescent athletes.

The purpose of this study was to …

The Influence Of Peer Tutors And Technology-Actuated Reading Instruction Process On Third-Grade Students' Self-Perceptions As Readers: A Multiple Case Study, Brenda Shill Daw

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Driven by Lev Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory (1986), my study investigated the self-perceptions and interactions of seven underperforming, third-grade readers while using Technology-Actuated Reading Instruction (TARI). Partnered with same-age peer tutors, readers used digital tools to listen to, read/record, and playback oral reading passages. They practiced, peer- or self-edited, and selected their best reading products as part of the iterative process. As reading is a complex cognitive skill (Reinking, 2005), TARI incorporated higher cognitive learning activities via a synthesis of Gagné's (1985) nine conditions of learning and the Four-Component Instructional Design Model (van Merriënboer & Kester, 2005).

Much of the current …

The Impact Of Regulating Social Science Research With Biomedical Regulations, Brenda Braxton Durosinmi

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Impact of Regulating Social Science Research with Biomedical Regulations Since 1974 Federal regulations have governed the use of human subjects in biomedical and social science research. The regulations are known as the Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects, and often referred to as the "Common Rule" because 18 Federal agencies follow some form of the policy. The Common Rule defines basic policies for conducting biomedical and social science research. Almost from the inception of the Common Rule social scientists have expressed concerns of the policy's medical framework of regulations having its applicability also to human research in …

A Polymerase Chain Reaction Method For The Detection Of Selenomonas Noxia, Arthuro Mehretu

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In recent studies, periodontal health has been linked to being overweight and/or obese. Among common oral bacteria, Selenomonas noxia has been implicated in converting periodontal health to disease. Selenomonas spp. have also been found in gastric ulcers, and were misdiagnosed as Helicobacter -like organisms, but no further studies were conducted. The increasing clinical and epidemiological importance of S. noxia necessitates the development of a rapid detection method. In this study, a TaqMan 16S rRNA based real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) method was developed, optimized and evaluated for the rapid and specific detection of S. noxia . The 16S PCR assay …

Strike Out Across The Shoreless Ocean, Julia Claire Paajanen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

What happens between a reader and a poem is none of my business. The world has always been yours; find your own way.

(1) Every choice is correct.

(2) Everything is true.

(3) What is anything, unless so far as it is enjoyed?

All you have to do is see the course, and when you see it, go.

Examining Revenue Management Practices In Las Vegas Casino Resorts, Arun Tanpanuwat

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The overall goal of this study was to examine Revenue Management (RM) practices in Las Vegas casino resorts. A great deal of research has been done on RM in the hospitality industry. The academic research has examined RM in hospitality in general, but not specifically in casino resorts, which gain their revenue from both rooms and resort amenities. Moreover, the academic literature often show high-level mathematic-based solutions or statistical applications, but not necessarily pragmatic techniques for practitioners. This qualitative study investigates the extent to which the essential fundamentals of any RM system are implemented successfully by casino RM professionals and …

Automating Construction And Selection Of A Neural Network Using Stochastic Optimization, Jason Lee Hurt

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

An artificial neural network can be used to solve various statistical problems by approximating a function that provides a mapping from input to output data. No universal method exists for architecting an optimal neural network. Training one with a low error rate is often a manual process requiring the programmer to have specialized knowledge of the domain for the problem at hand.

A distributed architecture is proposed and implemented for generating a neural network capable of solving a particular problem without specialized knowledge of the problem domain. The only knowledge the application needs is a training set that the network …

Retrospective Evaluation Of Microbial Presence In Existing Saliva Repository: A Pcr Based Molecular Survey Of Oral Microbial Populations From Existing Saliva Samples, Jay Ericksen Davis

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The overall purpose of this research project is to explore the link between oral health and disease in the University of Nevada, Las Vegas - School of Dental Medicine (UNLV-SDM) clinic patient population. More specifically, the population of interest is the UNLV-SDM orthodontic clinic patient population, which is mostly composed of adults, females, and minorities. The University of Nevada, Las Vegas, School of Dental Medicine, with more than 70,000 active patients and a post-graduate specialty program in Orthodontics is uniquely positioned to perform this type of oral health epidemiology survey, as well as targeted oral microbial testing among populations within …

Evaluating A Social Skills Training Protocol In A Private Setting: Outcomes And Issues, Judi Davis

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Society is dealing with a trend of aggressive and destructive behavior among children and adolescence. Children with social, emotional, and conduct problems are at high risk for academic failure, peer rejection, conduct disorder, school dropout, delinquency, and drug and alcohol problems (Webster-Stratton, Reid, & Stoollmiller, 2008). A high priority for the United States public health and crime prevention is the prevention of aggressive and delinquent behavior during childhood and adolescence (Taylor, Eddy, & Biglan 1999).

Social skills trainings aim to increase the performance of key social behaviors that are important for children to succeed in social situations. Solutions may be …

The Watchmaker Series, Christopher Michael Seelie

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Watchmaker Series celebrates and inquires into time as a biproduct of consciousness and practices the application of this notion in poetry. The series begins with the numeral poems, all of which relate directly to the theoretical and polemical aspects. Along the way, other poems with individual titles are interspersed to reflect or redirect the abstract considerations to more concrete subjects. Gradually, as the series progresses, the interacting and recurring associations meld theory and practice into a compositional whole.

The central notion that contemporary poetry is not a machine made of words but rather, like the watch that gives itself …

The Utilization And Effectiveness Of The Hesi E(Square) Exit Exam As A Graduation Requirement Toward Increasing Nclex-Rnrtm Pass Rates In Baccalaureate Nursing Programs, Debra Henline Sullivan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Due to a desire to better prepare BSN students for the Nurse Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN^® ) and to increase first-time pass rates, nursing programs across the US are using predictive testing to implement policies that require students to pass a standardized exit exam to graduate (National League for Nursing, 2010). Evolve Learning Systems owned by Elsevier, Inc. offers such an exit exam named the HESI E ² , which recommends a benchmark score to predict success on the NCLEX-RN^® . To offset an expected decrease in NCLEX-RN^® pass rates due to recent changes …

A Study Of A Novel Modular Variable Geometry Frame Arranged As A Robotic Surface, Christopher James Salisbury

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The novel concept of a "variable geometry frame" is introduced and explored through a three-dimensional robotic surface which is devised and implemented using triangular modules. The link design is optimized using surplus motor dimensions as firm constraints, and round numbers for further arbitrary constraints. Each module is connected by a passive six-bar mechanism that mimics the constraints of a spherical joint at each triangle intersection. A three dimensional inkjet printer is used to create a six-module prototype designed around surplus stepper motors powered by an old computer power supply as a proof-of-concept example.

The finite element method is applied to …

Job Stress, Mentoring, Psychological Empowerment, And Job Satisfaction Among Nursing Faculty, Catherine Emily Ebersole Chung

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The National League for Nursing (NLN) endorses mentoring throughout the nursing faculty career trajectory as the method to recruit nurses into academia and improve retention of nursing faculty within the academy (NLN, 2006). One way mentoring assists faculty is by easing socialization to the culture of the employing institution and decreasing faculty stress (Lewallen, Crane, Letvak, Jones, & Hu, 2003). Mentoring can also be a facilitating factor of an individual's psychological empowerment. Academia is an environment able to foster psychological empowerment, a state in which faculty may be self-directed, highly productive, confident, and find a meaningful connection to their work …

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 …

Spectroscopic Methods Of Process Monitoring For Safeguards Of Used Nuclear Fuel Separations, Jamie Lee Warburton

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

To support the demonstration of a more proliferation-resistant nuclear fuel processing plant, techniques and instrumentation to allow the real-time, online determination of special nuclear material concentrations in-process must be developed. An ideal materials accountability technique for proliferation resistance should provide nondestructive, realtime, on-line information of metal and ligand concentrations in separations streams without perturbing the process. UV-Visible spectroscopy can be adapted for this precise purpose in solvent extraction-based separations.

The primary goal of this project is to understand fundamental URanium EXtraction (UREX) and Plutonium-URanium EXtraction (PUREX) reprocessing chemistry and corresponding UV-Visible spectroscopy for application in process monitoring for safeguards. By …

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 …

The Long-Term Impact Of A Loyalty Program: An Evaluation From A Las Vegas Casino Hotel, Myongjee Yoo

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Loyalty programs are popular marketing strategies intended to attract, maintain, and enhance customer relationships. Despite the widespread usage of loyalty programs across various businesses, its effectiveness has not been well validated. Few empirical studies attempted to evaluate the value of loyalty programs but the findings have been conflicting with each other. Given the competitive climate of such a highly saturated competitive market of the hospitality industry, it is meaningful for hospitality marketers to evaluate the effectiveness of loyalty programs to increase customer retention and profitability. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a hospitality …