Digital Commons Network^™

The Jury's Role In Deciding Normative Issues In The American Common Law, Mark P. Gergen

Fordham Law Review

No abstract provided.

Learner Centeredness As A Predictor Of Teachers' Role Stress And Career Commitment, Kathryn Marie Krudwig

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Questions explored in this study were: (a) Is learner centeredness related to teacher role stress and/or career commitment; (b) If so, can learner centeredness explain variance in teachers' role stress and/or career commitment; (c) Is the discrepancy between teacher and student perceptions of teacher practices related to teacher role stress and/or career commitment; and (d) if so, can this discrepancy explain variance in teachers' role stress and/or career commitment? The current need to provide every child with qualified and committed teachers in the face of a growing, national teacher shortage supported the significance of the research. The study was based …

What Does Smart Growth Mean For Housing?, Karen A. Danielsen, Robert E. Lang, William Fulton

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Research

Barely noticed amid the returns from the 1998 midterm elections was a quiet revolution that goes to the heart of how and where Americans live. While most news accounts focused on the high-profile candidate elections, voters across the nation-in Democratic and Republican areas alike-approved more than 160 state and local ballot measures intended to preserve open space and limit urban sprawl.

The coalition forming around the idea of limiting sprawl includes environmentalists, farmers, big-city mayors, and some developers. But perhaps most important, the so-called "smart growth" movement also includes many suburban voters who are fed up with growth. For example, …

The Life Experiences Of Male Occupational Therapists As It Relates To Career Choice: A Qualitative Study, Jason R. Bomia

Masters Theses

This study examined the life experiences of male occupational therapists and how various life experiences influenced their choice of career. Research in occupational therapy has not addressed this topic, focusing instead on external influences, such as salary, advancement and prestige on career choice for male therapists. In order to study more intrinsic influences of male occupational therapists, this study interviewed male therapists using semi-structured interviews and hermeneutic data collection and analysis techniques. The results indicate a dynamic relationship between personal history, selfexpression and professional issues that contribute to how meaningful occupational therapy is to the males in this study. This …

The Effect Of Antibiotic And Resistance Education On Patient Knowledge, Karen Niemchick

Masters Theses

Our society, which has enjoyed the benefits of antibiotics for over fifty years, is now experiencing an increase in bacterial resistance. One contributing factor is a lack of patient understanding about antibiotics resulting in their inappropriate usage. This study examined the effect of patient education in antibiotics and bacterial resistance on patient knowledge.

Adults from various medical facilities (a student health services clinic, an urgent care office, a family practice, and a community convenience sample) were given a ten-question survey designed to assess their knowledge of antibiotics and resistance. Half of the participants were randomly given an educational brochure to …

Unlv College Of Education Multicultural & Diversity Newsletter, Steve Mccafferty, John Filler, Nancy P. Gallavan, Le Ann Putney, Nancy Sileo, Kyle Higgins, Porter Troutman, Stanley Zehm, Cyndi Giorgis, Aimee Govett, Jean Henry, Bill Pankratius, Susan Rumann, Joyce Nelson-Leaf

College of Education Multicultural & Diversity Newsletter

Each morning I wound my way up the steep hill along the deeply rutted dirt path, exchanging daily "maaa's" with five bleating sheep and shouting out, "¡Hola!" in response to the children who gleefully identified me as "¡Gringa!" Women and children, colorful bowls of cooked maize balanced atop their heads, sauntered to and from Maria Elena's where their maize would be ground; at home the dough would be shaped and flattened into tortillas, the mainstay of every meal in the small Guatemalan village of San Juan.

Unlv College Of Education Multicultural & Diversity Newsletter, Steve Mccafferty, John Filler, Nancy P. Gallavan, Le Ann Putney, Nancy Sileo, Kyle Higgins, Porter Troutman, Paul Mecham, Cyndi Giorgis, Aimee Govett, Jean Henry, Bill Pankratius, Susan Rumann, Joyce Nelson-Leaf

College of Education Multicultural & Diversity Newsletter

The observance of tolerance and respect is, fundamentally, a personal decision. This decision emanates from an attitude that is learnable and embraceable,--a belief that every other person on earth is a treasure. As individuals, we each have the power to change our personal attitudes to overcome our ignorance and fears. As educators, we have the responsibility to influence the students with whom we work, our peers, and our community. It begins with "us."

Suicide In The Las Vegas Homeless Population: Applying Durkheim's Theory Of Suicide, Joseph Dean Diaz

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This study is an empirical test of Durkheim's theory of suicide. Durkheim's 1897 theory holds that suicide is caused not by environmental or physiological forces, but by social forces, which either push to the individual to take his or her own life, or fail to prevent suicidal behavior; The population from which the data were gathered for this study was the Las Vegas homeless population. The lack of social bonds and social integration, which Durkheim found to be related to suicide, are generally present in homeless persons. Therefore, it was suspected that factors which contribute to homelessness would be positively …

An Exploratory Study Of Accommodations Provided To Welfare -To -Work Participants In Housekeeping Classifications, Terry Kent Jones

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This study explored the workplace needs of welfare recipients in their transition from welfare to work, and the willingness of housekeeping managers and supervisors to provide workplace accommodations that could enhance the probability of a successful transition to self-sufficiency. Personal interviews and two separate survey questionnaires were used to survey employers and welfare recipients in an attempt to explore several research questions. Questions focused on the respective needs of employers and welfare recipients, and on each group's perceptions of the other group. This exploratory study was supported by a literature review and survey techniques. Data was subjected to appropriate statistical …

Domestic Violence In The Hyperreal: An Examination Of Race And Ethnicity In "Real Life" Police Drama, Melissa J Monson

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This project investigates public representations of domestic violence by highlighting televised reality-based police dramas (e.g., COPS, L.A.P.D.: Life on the Beat, Real Stories of the Highway Patrol, etc.). Specifically, it focuses on the intersection of race, class, and gender in the portrayal of police treatment of victims and suspects of domestic violence. The data for this research were gathered through the use of latent and manifest content analysis. Seventy-two hours (including commercials) of reality based programing were recorded for analysis, making 144 total individual shows and 48 episodes of each program; In general, police officers were portrayed as treating domestic …

A Survey Of Southern Nevada Employers Regarding The Importance Of Scans Workplace Basic Skills, Greg P Richens

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This study utilized quantitative research methodology and incorporated a descriptive research design that described the perceptions of southern Nevada employers who responded to a survey regarding the importance of the workplace basic skills identified by the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) established by the U.S. Department of Labor. The study sought to determine whether the SCANS skills and competencies were perceived by responding employers as necessary for entry-level employment. Over 75 percent of respondents to the survey essentially considered the SCANS skills and competencies as adequately identifying competencies and skills needed for entry-level employment in their respective business. …

The Structural Dimensions Of Community-Oriented Police Departments, Stavros S Anthony

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

With the beginning of the twentieth century, police departments throughout the nation, during what has been called the reform movement, changed their organizational structure to that of a bureaucracy. This structural change occurred to deal with the problems of political patronage and corruption in police departments. The result, over time, was the development of municipal police departments into ridged, formalized, and centralized structures that were not responsive to the communities they served. Police officers became professional crime-fighters, who sought little community input; For the past 20 years, pressures from police professionals, local communities and governmental forces have caused police executives …

Think Different: A Comparison Of The Critical Thinking Abilities Of Education Majors, Shelly Weeks Channel

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

In an increasingly complex society, the need for people to exercise critical thinking effectively is clearly evident. The institution of education recognizes that its responsibility to teach students to think critically is vital in order for them to negotiate decisions humanely and intelligently in an ever-changing world; Hundreds of reports from various committees and researchers along with such insidious incidents as the rise in murderous assaults on children inside school buildings, such as the massacre in Littleton, Colorado, attest to the fact that schools fail to teach students to evaluate social life critically. While educators advocate critical thinking, teacher education …

The Impact Of Interracial Contact On Stereotypical Perceptions, Joann Watts Debose

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Situations involving interracial contact and their impact on the reduction of racist attitudes among whites in America will be examined using the contact theory of prejudice. This perspective maintains that evidence for the continued "social distance" between blacks and whites can be quantified in measures of workplace contact. Racial perceptions in schools, churches and neighborhoods provide additional evidence for the contact theory of race relations. Stereotypic perceptions develop when people are unable or unwilling to obtain all the information needed to make accurate judgments about people or situations. Often, the absence of the "total picture" encourages people to fill in …

Terrorism And Political Policy: Crisis And *Policy Making Indicators In The Media During Legislative Action, James David Ballard

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This study tested three political sociology policy making theories with relation to the media coverage of an act of political violence and the affiliated policy formation processes related to this event. To test the three theories, a case study was conducted on the bombing of the Alfred Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995 and the subsequent policy enacted under the auspices of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDP). The case analysis focused on several preexisting policy debates, the media coverage immediately following the bombing, and subsequent policy discussions leading to the passage of the …

Advertising And The Elderly: Do Magazine Ads Continue To Reinforce Ageism?, Jaymes Antonio Aimetti

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to assess how the younger population views the elderly in magazine ads, as well as how mature adults view themselves through media depiction when they see elderly characters in print ads. A convenience sample of one-hundred university students and forty-eight retired teachers from the Nevada Chapter of Retired Teachers answered a questionnaire including: negative, neutral, or positive depictions of seniors in ads; whether or not seniors are portrayed accurately, and the frequency of senior minorities in magazine ads. Results suggest that a majority of the respondents agree that seniors are portrayed inaccurately in magazine …

"Welcome, Fellow Toastmasters": The History And Membership Of A Public Speaking Phenomenon, Ellen Beth Levine Bremen

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Since 1905, Toastmasters International (TI) serves as the most recognized organization for voluntary oral communication practice in the world. Due to the dearth of scholarly communication research regarding TI, this thesis details the history, educational structure, and program dynamics of the organization. Literature review included the nature and extent of post-secondary communication education, as well as social affiliation and leisure theories. Finally, an Internet survey of 343 international TI members revealed the demographics of the "typical" TI member: a male or female college graduate between the ages of 36--50, who works in a wide range of professions. The study also …

Date Rape Attitudes Intervention: A Controlled Outcome Study, Shera Deanne Beadner

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Date rape is a widespread problem; however, there is a paucity of methodologically sound intervention studies available. The research that does exist has found contradictory results regarding the effectiveness of different types of intervention programs. This study attempted to address some of the short-comings of previous research and build upon the existing Information A date rape intervention targeting date rape attitudes was evaluated in 88 undergraduate students. The intervention was compared to an equivalent control group. A repeated measures 2 (intervention, control) x 3 (pre-test, post-test, follow-up) MANOVA (multivariate analysis of variance) was used to analyze the data. The MANOVA …

The Racial Composition Of Prisons And The Conditions Of Confinement, Shannan Michelle Catalano

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Historically, Blacks have been subjected to both capricious and extreme methods of social control. Despite a generation of criminal justice reform, many argue that the social inequities of our past are too deeply interwoven in the social fabric to be extricated, resulting in discrimination which has become institutionalized. Of sociological interest is the manner in which differential outcomes in the criminal justice system may be a manifestation of differential treatment on the basis of race. Equally important are the possible determinants, such as race, of differing reactions to certain inmate populations; In recent years, many studies have addressed the question …

Exploring The Situational Context Of Criminal Assaults And Batteries, Gini Rene Deibert

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Social scientists are increasingly aware of the significance of examining crime events and the situational context of crime. This paper extends that research by exploring the physical and social aspects of assaults. Guided by research on masculinity, status threats, and character contests, this study uses police data to examine the situational dynamics of dispute-related assaults; Specifically, this study differentiates two types of dispute-related violence: character contests and noncharacter contests. Numerous situational variables are examined to assess the significance of their relationship with the likelihood of an offense being a character contest; By comparing character contests to other types of dispute-related …

Using Porn: Discourse And Identity Construction In Male Consumers, Andrew Fletcher Harper

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

A number of cultural perspectives address the question of male consumers of heterosexually oriented pornography. Porn and the consumer have been characterized from feminist, conservative, and scientific positions. Despite the presence of these perspectives, little work informed from the consumer perspective exists. This research allows consumers to speak about their own experience. This research analyzes the impact of framing discourses on the identity construction of consumers. Using concepts from Foucault and cultural studies, these questions are explored: How do discourses about consumers affect their identity construction? Which are important? How do men construct their consuming experiences? How does consumption context …

Employment Discrimination Based On Sexual Orientation: The American, Canadian And U.K. Responses, Ronnie Cohen, Shannon O'Byrne, Patricia Maxwell

Minnesota Journal of Law & Inequality

No abstract provided.

Living Expressions And Their Effects On Primary Recipients, Dana Lynn Galbavy

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

"Living Expressions" are formal events where appreciative feelings are disclosed to a living recipient by friends and/or relatives. Effects of events on the self-esteem of recipients and recipient's relationships with disclosers were studied. Self-esteem and self-disclosure are components of personal and relational health. Living Expressions were expected to enhance self-esteem and personal relationships through self-disclosure. Living Expressions have semblance to ideas contained in eulogies, Gestalt and other therapies and group theories. Self-enhancement and self-consistency theory conflicts were considered. Social penetration theory and self-disclosure studies were reviewed. Eleven recipients were subjects in this multi-case, qualitative study. The combined self-enhancement/self-consistency theory and …

The Stages Of Development In The Portrayal Of African-Americans In Television Comedy, Rashawnda Deve Horn

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This thesis involves a historical and critical examination of the utilization and development of African Americans in television sitcoms. By reexamining the initial research by Riggs (1991) and extending it, I will introduce a new stage focusing on contemporary sitcoms; According to Riggs' (1991), study on the utilization and development of African Americans in television can be divided into four stages that represent various periods in television history. Each stage is indicated by the transition in role, increase or decline in visibility, and the changes in their image or portrayal on television. By furthering Riggs study by examining contemporary sitcoms …

Ethical Climates In Lodging Operations: An Exploratory Study Of Management Perceptions, Todd Isaac Weinstein

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This study explored the role of ethics in lodging organizations. Managers working at five different properties constituted the survey sample. The study examined management perceptions as measured by the Ethical Climate Questionnaire (ECQ). This instrument, used in previous research on moral reasoning, is designed to assess the perceptions of respondents based on three categories in two separate dimensions: ethical criteria (egoism, benevolence and principle) and loci of analysis (individual, local, and cosmopolitan). Each category comprises a separate ethical climate. Results from the ECQ were compared to various demographic variables such as gender, age, years of management experience, and number of …

The Problem Gambler In Las Vegas: Quantitative And Qualitative Explorations, Bo Jason Bernhard

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Problem gambling behaviors among the adult population in the city of Las Vegas, Nevada are analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Responses to problem gambling questions from 1992 and 1995 telephone surveys are examined. On the 1992 survey, which focused on lifetime problem gambling behaviors, 5.8% of local residents indicated that they had a gambling problem. On the 1995 survey, which inquired about past-year gambling problems, 6.6% of the local population indicated that they had a gambling problem. Demographic information on the self-identified problem gamblers in the surveys is presented as well. Because survey methodology is limited in its …

Celluloid Heroes: A Study Of Fictional Characters In Popular Film As Vehicles For Cultural Myth, Jeffrey Patterson Lawrence

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The following study is an examination of three fictional characters from popular film in an attempt to define the role of cultural myth in American society and demonstrate how these myths are distributed through popular culture media. The study will examine the film history of each character, analyze which myths these characters perpetuate, and attempt to explain the impact such myths have on a given audience; To gain a better understanding of society, scholars need to examine the books people read, the music they listen to, and the films they watch. It is the hope that this study will lend …

Black And Blue: A Metaphoric Criticism, Jacquelyn A Luongo

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

First, the purpose of this study is to investigate the ways in which blues lyrics apply rhetorical invention, specifically metaphor. Analysis of a sample of songs from the Blues Hall of Fame first explores how classical rhetorical devices are utilized in blues lyrics; Secondly, through metaphoric criticism the unique idiom of the blues reveals a strong trend towards self-abasement. And finally, despite intensified racial awareness of genre of folk (blues) music it is not a closed communicative act, but through the utilization of archetypal metaphor, a universal one.

The Disability Press: A Wheel Still In Spin, Cindy Schwartz Mccoy

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This study, exploring the messages of the disability press, also utilizes Marxist theory to explain empowerment in the disability community. Although Marxism has significant value for explaining disability oppression, Marx's theory of internal relations, describing an interconnected web of organizational structure and the accompanying relationships, sheds light on the political nature of disability empowerment. A world view characterized by an economic base and social superstructure models an intrinsically enmeshed impairment base and social superstructure model of disability. The covers and cover stories of Mouth, Mainstream, Ragged Edge, and New Mobility magazines are catalogued and a representative sample is analyzed in …

Amerikan Dreams: Dialogues With White Supremacists, Pete George Simi

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The following is an ethnographic study of white supremacy. Using a cultural studies approach, I focus on ideology and how members of the openly white supremacist Army of Israel (AOI) practically accomplish aspects of their ideology on a daily basis. Further, I juxtapose the articulations of white supremacy by members of the "extreme" right with more "mainstream" culture, situating the AOI's virulent form of white supremacy within a pattern of thinking and behavior that exists on a continuum embedded within the larger culture, including our political and economic institutions, everyday practices and unconscious (Ansley 1997; Feagin and Vera 1995; Kovel …