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1999

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Elder Care: An Evaluation Of Communication Resources For Lay Caregivers In Southern Nevada, Deborah Lee Hauth Jan 1999

Elder Care: An Evaluation Of Communication Resources For Lay Caregivers In Southern Nevada, Deborah Lee Hauth

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Hidden behind closed doors of nursing homes, hospitals and neighborhood residences, was a segment of the population suffering from dementing illnesses. Although seldom seen, these older Americans presented significant challenges for the family members caring for them. This study focused attention on these lay caregivers and the effectiveness of community resources, from their perspective. With assistance from Southern Nevada Alzheimer's Association staff, a survey was conducted. The results showed agencies rated as "satisfactory" in their efforts to provide information, with the Alzheimer's Association newsletter ranked as the primary source of information for caregivers. While the survey provided insights regarding caregivers …

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Socially Desirable Responding On The Machiavellianism Scale: Response Bias Or Construct?, Maryn Lyn Hoefer Jan 1999

Socially Desirable Responding On The Machiavellianism Scale: Response Bias Or Construct?, Maryn Lyn Hoefer

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The Mach IV scale measures Machiavellianism, the propensity to be manipulatory in interpersonal relations. The Mach IV has been criticized for social desirability response bias, or the tendency to present oneself in an overly favorable light. Socially desirable responding, as measured by the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding, however, was postulated to reflect a facet of the Machiavellianism construct. A coalition-bargaining game was played with college students (N = 126), using 21 groups each of sex-segregated triads in a 2 (sex) by 3 (high, medium, and low levels of Machiavellianism) between-subjects design. Game scores served as the dependent variable and …

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Media Convergence, Obscenity Law And The Internet, Lynette Lim Jan 1999

Media Convergence, Obscenity Law And The Internet, Lynette Lim

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Digitization and innovation in technology has resulted in a climate of media convergence. Media convergence occurs when elements of previously distinctly separate media forms co-mingle to create new capabilities. Although there is no such thing as complete convergence as of yet, there is probably the closest thing to a purely converged medium. Any user is able to access a variety of text, hypertext, graphic, audio and video files online. However, it is also because of media convergence that makes the Internet difficult to regulate. Laws that were proposed to provide some form of legal control to the access of online …

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Fall From Grace: United States Images Of Japan, 1894--1921, Darryl Scott Hushaw Jan 1999

Fall From Grace: United States Images Of Japan, 1894--1921, Darryl Scott Hushaw

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This thesis examines the shifting American perceptions of Japan in the period from the Sino-Japanese War to the Washington Naval Conference, as expressed in the popular press, government statements, missionary speeches, and other printed materials. During this period, the American image of Japan changed dramatically, and the image of the Japanese was transformed from an admirable, if exotic, people, to formidable economic, cultural, and strategic rivals. While Theodore Roosevelt pursued a pragmatic East Asian policy based on the interests and capabilities of the nations in question, his successors altered this policy, with the Taft Administration mounting an economic challenge to …

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The Rhetoric Of Martyrdom: A Case Study Analyzing The Rhetorical Situations Of Joan Of Arc, John Brown And Jim Jones, Chris S Meservey Jan 1999

The Rhetoric Of Martyrdom: A Case Study Analyzing The Rhetorical Situations Of Joan Of Arc, John Brown And Jim Jones, Chris S Meservey

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The study provides a critical analysis of the rhetoric used to establish a martyr in history. An indepth definition of martyrdom, along with a criteria for martyrs, is utilized in support of the theories. The text claims that the rhetoric of a situation is the key to becoming a martyr. Utilizing the theory of criteria for martyrdom as the tool, histories, biographies, discourses, and print media provide the input for the analysis; The examination breaks into three case studies: Joan of Arc, John Brown, and Jim Jones The examples of Joan of Arc and John Brown illustrate the positive role …

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Baseball's Manifest Destiny: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly, Patrick Valenti Miller Jan 1999

Baseball's Manifest Destiny: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly, Patrick Valenti Miller

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Brooklyn Dodgers fans blame Walter O'Malley for destroying a way of life and tarnishing the golden image of the postwar years when, in 1957, he relocated their beloved baseball team to the West. The relocation finds its impetus in American adherence to nineteenth-century Manifest Destiny and a major demographic shift following a post-World War II economic and technological boom; For the first half of the twentieth century, baseball transcended a mere rooting for a collection of superb athletes; civic identity rested in one's baseball team. Losing a team to another city was devastating. For some cities baseball provided the affirmation …

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Trackless Online Two-Server Problems And Red-Black Games, Anna N Naydenova Jan 1999

Trackless Online Two-Server Problems And Red-Black Games, Anna N Naydenova

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The online 2-server problem presents a number of challenges in the search for simple competitive algorithms for solving it. Finding the optimal off-line solution involves costly dynamic programming. Looking for more efficient algorithms, researchers have studied how restriction on the input information given to the algorithm affects its competitiveness. One such restriction is tracklessness. Trackless algorithms for the 2-server problem include many known server algorithms including BALANCE_SLACK and some paging algorithms. It is demonstrated that the trackless 2-server optimization problem has a deterministic lower bound of 2311>2 for competitiveness, thus proving that tracklessness is a significant restriction. The optimally …

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Gambling Addiction And Life Meaning, Andrew Bohdan Plesh Jan 1999

Gambling Addiction And Life Meaning, Andrew Bohdan Plesh

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Addictive Gambling has plagued mankind for thousands of years. However, it has only recently been studied extensively. One proposed cause for addiction, which has been used in studying alcohol and drug abuse, is a lack of meaning in the addict's life. However, a causal link between life meaning and gambling addiction has not yet been examined. This study used a sample of 355 normal people and compared scores on the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS), the Purpose in Life (PIL) Test, the short form of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST). Relationships between the …

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Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: The Hidden Epidemic And Its Effect On Society, Donald Phelan Stewart Jan 1999

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: The Hidden Epidemic And Its Effect On Society, Donald Phelan Stewart

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, a debilitating and sometimes disabling mental disorder, is emerging as one that is costly to society from many perspectives. PTSD sufferers commonly experience an inability to function normally within the workplace or within their social and family relationships. The disorder triggers strong emotional responses, changes social interaction and precipitates primary and secondary deviant behavior. This work focuses on non war related civilian incidence of the disorder. It examines the causes, circumstances and processes leading to the onset of the disorder and explores societal reaction to PTSD sufferers. Central to the work are the individual case studies …

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Changing Images: The End Of Legalized Prostitution In Las Vegas, Sarah Hall Washburn Jan 1999

Changing Images: The End Of Legalized Prostitution In Las Vegas, Sarah Hall Washburn

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Legalized prostitution in Las Vegas began with the town's founding in 1905 and lasted until World War II. By researching legalized prostitution in Las Vegas from an economic and social standpoint as opposed to just a moral perspective, a broader picture emerged to show the changes that occurred. These changes were not unique to Las Vegas, but accompanied many other frontier towns of the West. The slow changes that began with some restriction on prostitution from the founding of Las Vegas within Block 16 of the original townsite and evolved to include pressure from the federal government to eliminate prostitution. …

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Historical And Archaeological Investigations At 26pe2137: American Canyon, Pershing County, Nevada, David Wayne Valentine Jan 1999

Historical And Archaeological Investigations At 26pe2137: American Canyon, Pershing County, Nevada, David Wayne Valentine

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Previous archaeological investigations concerning overseas Chinese in the United States have focused on artifact assemblages in an effort to determine the level of acculturation of Chinese into dominant Euroamerican cultures. These studies indicate that Chinese tenaciously clung to traditional diets and other aspects of their culture, but adapted some foreign technologies. What can other aspects of their culture, such as architecture and mining technology, tell us? Do ruins of dwellings and mines show adherence to Chinese tradition?;This thesis looks at architecture and mining technology in a Chinese placer mining site to determine levels of acculturation in these areas. The architectural …

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Detection Of Glial Interleukin-6 Release: Development Of A Novel Interleukin-6 Elisa, Kay-Lynn Bowman Jan 1999

Detection Of Glial Interleukin-6 Release: Development Of A Novel Interleukin-6 Elisa, Kay-Lynn Bowman

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The development of an interleukin-6 (IL-6) enzyme-linked immunosorbent (ELISA) assay resulted in a detection range of 1 ng/m1 to 10 ng/mL IL-6. The limit of detection (LOD) for IL-6 was 0.25 ng/mL. Troubleshooting techniques were attempted including matrix effects, non-specific binding, and coating buffer pH differences. In comparison to the ELISA, the LOD for IL-6 using the 7TD1 bioassay was 2--5 pg/mL. Therefore the 7TD1 bioassay was implemented for the experiments described in this study. IL-6 is a cytokine known to stimulate B-cell differentiation and to activate T-cells. IL-6 is elevated in inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases. Interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) stimulates IL-6 …

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Modeling Of Short-Distance Running, Maria Camille Theresa Jose Capiral Jan 1999

Modeling Of Short-Distance Running, Maria Camille Theresa Jose Capiral

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

In this thesis, we construct a model of human performance in short distance foot races. First, we describe the Hill-Keller model of competitive running, based on the solution to an optimal control problem, and then focus on that part of the model dealing with short distance races. Our task is to estimate two underlying physiological parameters that characterize the runner's performance. Second, we customize this submodel by linearizing Keller's analytical solution for short distance races, we then apply a high quality linear least squares estimation based on the Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) in order to estimate the two physiological parameters. …

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Theoretical Study Of Mbe Growth Of Indium Gallium Arsenide Semiconductor Compound On Gallium Arsenide Substrate, Golshan Colayni Jan 1999

Theoretical Study Of Mbe Growth Of Indium Gallium Arsenide Semiconductor Compound On Gallium Arsenide Substrate, Golshan Colayni

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The theoretical study of Molecular Beam Epitaxy allows us to model and construct an experiment with the same conditions. Growth modeling investigates compound semiconductor characteristics during the MBE growth which can achieve the best results to control the quality of growth. Growth modeling also is less expensive and faster than experiments. The wide variation in the band-gap and lattice constants between InAs and GaAs is a subject for a variety of optical and electronic device applications involving InGaAs/GaAs systems. In this material system, the perfection is intrinsically controlled by the surface segregation of In due to its larger atomic size …

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Fluid Flow And Slope Stability Model, Gene Cotner Jan 1999

Fluid Flow And Slope Stability Model, Gene Cotner

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The objective of this work was to develop a computer model to calculate the changes in factor of safety of a slope with time resulting from changes in the water saturation. A two-phase fluid flow model was incorporated to calculate the saturation and saturation changes in fractured and nonfractured soil and rock. A slope stability model was created to calculate the factor of safety. The fluid flow module executes for every time interval specified by the user. The slope stability module is executed at the end of any time interval when desired. As examples, factors of safety for the downstream …

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Gaming Growth In Clark County, Nevada: A Life Cycle Study, David Scott Frankhouser Jan 1999

Gaming Growth In Clark County, Nevada: A Life Cycle Study, David Scott Frankhouser

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to use product life cycle (PLC) theory to analyze the growth of gaming in Clark County, Nevada. Historical data for the last 30 years, provided by the Nevada Gaming Abstracts and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, allowed average casino revenues, hotel occupancy percentages, and visitor statistics to be examined. Based on this analysis, Clark County can be described as in the consolidation stage of Butler's six-stage life cycle model. The information learned from this study helps to show that gaming is a unique form of tourist destination. As such, operators need to …

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The Relationship Between Casino Drop And Gaming Stock Performance: A Multivariate Analysis, Mark H Gilbert Jan 1999

The Relationship Between Casino Drop And Gaming Stock Performance: A Multivariate Analysis, Mark H Gilbert

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

In reference to the gaming industry, investors and analysts examine many different variables that affect the financial viability of the business. Areas of investigation have included competition, governmental regulation, debt structure, cash flow, visitor volume, and so on; The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship of yet another variable of casino performance, the casino drop, to gaming stock performance. Utilizing statistics provided from the State of Nevada's Gaming Revenue Report, the casino drop was divided into five segments, blackjack, craps, baccarat, quarter slots, and dollar slots; Tested by using a multiple regression analysis against a market capitalization-weighted …

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Survey Of Injury Rates In Nevada High School Athletic Programs, Michelle Marie Hauck Jan 1999

Survey Of Injury Rates In Nevada High School Athletic Programs, Michelle Marie Hauck

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to gather information regarding injury rates in high school athletics in the state of Nevada. A survey instrument was developed to assess the type and severity of injuries relative to school size, geographical location, and sport. Fifteen secondary schools representing northern and southern regions of the state and the four divisions of competition agreed to participate in the collection of injury data. Injury tracking forms were completed either by the coaching staff or certified athletic trainers. Data was analyzed using independent chi-squares for comparison of injury data by sport, division, region of the state, …

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Genetic Algorithms Using Galib, Bradley John Hendricks Jan 1999

Genetic Algorithms Using Galib, Bradley John Hendricks

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

GAlib is a C++ library of genetic algorithm objects that was recently developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This thesis is to demonstrate its functionality and versatility for implementing haploid tripartite genetic algorithms; We first built a test bed in which GAlib could be used. To achieve this, we used GAlib to solve the Traveling Salesman Problem and implemented two-opt and simulated annealing for compariSon We then examined the use of genetic algorithms for finding loop invariants. We used GAlib successfully to build a model but results remain inconclusive; In our main thrust we applied genetic algorithms to train …

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Do Rna-Dependent Polymerases Share Common Ancestry? A Bioinformatic Approach, Julianna Hudak Jan 1999

Do Rna-Dependent Polymerases Share Common Ancestry? A Bioinformatic Approach, Julianna Hudak

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Bioinformatics is the use of computational methods to perform hypothesis-driven research that generates new knowledge from existing biological databases. For any bioinformatic analysis, it is important that the most accurate method(s) be used. The first portion of this thesis is a comparative evaluation of six programs designed for the local alignment of protein sequences. The results demonstrate that two of the programs, MEME and PROBE, outperform all other programs (BLOCKMAKER, ITERALIGN, MATCHBOX, and PIMA). The second portion of this thesis uses MEME and PROBE in an attempt to locate an ordered-series-of-motifs (OSM) among two groups of RNA-dependent polymerases, the large …

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Seismic Evaluation Of The U3ax/Bl Landfill In The Area 3 Rwms, Nevada Test Site, Nevada, Maximilian Kemnitz Jan 1999

Seismic Evaluation Of The U3ax/Bl Landfill In The Area 3 Rwms, Nevada Test Site, Nevada, Maximilian Kemnitz

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

A site evaluation, a seismic hazard analysis and a site response analysis were performed for the U3ax/b1 landfill which is located within the Area 3 Radioactive Waste Management Site of the Nevada Test Site. The site evaluation included application of the Spectral-Analysis-of-Surface-Waves method to determine the low-strain shear modulus for the alluvium and landfill waste. The seismic hazard analysis included evaluation of potential ground motions from earthquakes and underground nuclear explosions. The worst-case seismic hazard was defined in terms of the controlling earthquake, produced by rupture of the Yucca Fault. The controlling earthquake was modeled in the site response analysis …

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A Parametric Study On The Contained Burning Of Solid Rocket Motor Propellant, Jennifer Erin Politano Jan 1999

A Parametric Study On The Contained Burning Of Solid Rocket Motor Propellant, Jennifer Erin Politano

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Outmoded solid rocket motor propellant is being destroyed by burning as part of the worldwide demilitarization process. Many of these bums have been performed in spaces where the combustion products are contained within a sealed chamber. There is currently no accepted method to predict the gas temperature and pressure that results from this process. The primary focus of this study was the prediction of the peak temperature and pressure of the gas inside an underground containment chamber as a function of the propellant consumed and the prediction of the wall surface temperature as a function of time; A thermodynamic lumped …

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The Selection And Preparation Of Paramedic Preceptors In Emergency Medical Services, Brian James Tilton Jan 1999

The Selection And Preparation Of Paramedic Preceptors In Emergency Medical Services, Brian James Tilton

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

In Emergency Medical Services, training programs for paramedics, providers of Advanced Life Support emergency care, include a field internship where students are partnered with a preceptor for training and evaluation before program completion; The purpose of this study was to determine if certain attributes could be used as predictors for preceptor success measured by a preceptor performance evaluation. The quantitative descriptive, correlation study was based on data gathered from paramedic preceptors in Clark County, Nevada in the spring of 1999. The sample (n = 66) was drawn through a consensus survey of every paramedic preceptor employed by a provider agency …

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Convention And Visitors Bureaus' Services Under Review: The Meeting Planners' Perspective, Karin Weber Jan 1999

Convention And Visitors Bureaus' Services Under Review: The Meeting Planners' Perspective, Karin Weber

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Convention tourism represents one of the fastest growing segments of the tourism industry. Yet, it is only in recent years that more research attention has been directed towards this industry segment in view of its growth rate and significant economic contribution. This study focused on the relationship between meeting planners and Convention & Visitors Bureaus (CVBs). It assessed meeting planners' usage of CVB services and their perceptions of these services. Two self-completion questionnaires, for users and non-users of CVB services, were designed and administered via the Internet. Data was collected from 206 meeting planners. Results of the study indicated that …

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An Assessment For Religious Contexts: An Ecological Assessment Tool For Church Environments, Lawrence Scott Wilson Jan 1999

An Assessment For Religious Contexts: An Ecological Assessment Tool For Church Environments, Lawrence Scott Wilson

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The Assessment of Religious Contexts (ARC) is a research instrument that seeks to measure the environment of a local church. The development of the ARC and initial studies of its reliability and validity comprise the present thesis. At the outset, the relevance and importance of the study are detailed. Next, pertinent literature is reviewed in environmental or ecological psychology. Specifically reviewed are areas of ecological assessment, church environment assessment, and other environmental assessments. Chapter three reports the methodology used to develop the ARC. Chapter 4 provides results concerning an estimate of the reliability and initial validity study. Chapter 5 includes …

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A Gis-Based Traffic Infrastructure Management System For Pavement Markers And Markings, Kaizad Jehangir Yazdani Jan 1999

A Gis-Based Traffic Infrastructure Management System For Pavement Markers And Markings, Kaizad Jehangir Yazdani

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Public infrastructure management is the management of all public assets to maximize public benefit. The management of such assets are complex as they are diverse and distributed throughout the region. Pavement markings and marker materials are used to delineate travel lanes on roads and at intersections, and they are a key component of the roadway system. They play a vital role in facilitating safe traffic operations on roadways. The management of markings and markers is critical to public agencies responsible for roadway operations and traffic safety. However, few agencies have automated or computerized systems to maintain these inventories and to …

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Financial Characteristics Of Takeover Targets In The Gaming Industry, Seung Jai Yuh Jan 1999

Financial Characteristics Of Takeover Targets In The Gaming Industry, Seung Jai Yuh

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Forty-five takeover activities took place from 1989 to 1999. Decisions in takeovers may be affected by financial or non-financial factors. Since non-financial factors are hard to measure and quantify for analysis, this study investigates the financial characteristics of takeover target firms in the gaming industry; Logistic regression analysis was employed because the dependent variable of this study is dichotomous. By the stepwise selection procedure, six variables were identified in this study. These include size, profitability, liquidity, leverage, capital expenditure, cash reserve capacity, operational efficiency and returns on invested capital. The takeover likelihood in the gaming industry is found to be …

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Community-Based Corrections: Offender Characteristics And Success In A Halfway House, Ana Maria Del Carmen Gutierrez Jan 1999

Community-Based Corrections: Offender Characteristics And Success In A Halfway House, Ana Maria Del Carmen Gutierrez

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Prison crowding and tight correctional budgets over the past decade have sparked renewed interest in alternative or community-based sentencing options. These non-incarcerative sentences hold the potential for both reining in skyrocketing costs and also providing a more effective setting for rehabilitative interventions. One type of community-based program is the halfway house. Halfway houses are most often used to ease the transition of offenders from the prison to the community by providing temporary housing, job placement assistance, and other services. In addition, in many jurisdictions courts are sentencing offenders directly to halfway houses as a part of the conditions of probation. …

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Quality Of Life Amidst The Lights Of Las Vegas, Terri Lynn Hicks Jan 1999

Quality Of Life Amidst The Lights Of Las Vegas, Terri Lynn Hicks

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Recent literature on quality of life indicators and sustainability has focused on quantifiable measurements, not qualitative. In actuality, the whole concept of quality of life is a subjective valuation of a myriad of issues by individuals. The purpose of this thesis, based on the testing of a model, is to identify these subjective quality of life variables and determine which variables are currently significant to residents in Southern Nevada. This thesis determines if quality of life, measured by individual respondents overall satisfaction with living in Southern Nevada, is a function of different social characteristics by looking at the following community …

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Descriptive Experience Sampling Of Individuals With Symptoms Of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Daniela S Hugelshofer Jan 1999

Descriptive Experience Sampling Of Individuals With Symptoms Of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Daniela S Hugelshofer

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This study employed the Descriptive Experience Sampling method to investigate the inner experiences of three individuals with symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and one non-OCD-symptom participant. Participants were provided with a random-interval generator (beeper) and were asked to "freeze" the aspects of their inner experience at the moment of the beep and record this experience in a notebook. Participants met with the investigators within 24 hours to discuss each of these sampled moments in detail. Salient characteristics were identified for each participant. Characteristics of inner experience were found to be shared across subjects: OCD-symptom participants were found to have a …

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