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2003

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Inside Unlv, Richard Jensen, Donna Mcaleer, Jennifer Vaughan, Cate Weeks, Carol C. Harter, Jeffrey Koep Jan 2003

Inside Unlv, Richard Jensen, Donna Mcaleer, Jennifer Vaughan, Cate Weeks, Carol C. Harter, Jeffrey Koep

Inside UNLV

No abstract provided.

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Graphic Organizers, Activity, And The Positioning Of Language And Learners: An Ethnographic Case Study, John Allan Unger Jan 2003

Graphic Organizers, Activity, And The Positioning Of Language And Learners: An Ethnographic Case Study, John Allan Unger

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

There were two main purposes for this research and one parallel purpose. One main purpose was to investigate how learners of English in an EFL/ESL context, who were also teachers of English and/or learning to be teachers of English, perceived and responded to different types of graphic organizers and associated activities. These graphic organizers and activities were presented at a university in Northern Thailand through an advanced reading comprehension course for preservice and inservice teachers taught by the primary researcher. The second main purpose was to explore, synthesize, and apply theories of mediated activity and research methods originating from or …

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The Use Of Problem-Based Learning In Graduate Programs Of Higher Education, Lisa Ann Edler Jan 2003

The Use Of Problem-Based Learning In Graduate Programs Of Higher Education, Lisa Ann Edler

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This study was intended to discover what Problem-Based Learning (PBL) looks like in graduate departments of higher education according to faculty who use PBL methodology in their curriculum and graduate students who experience PBL in their courses. This study also attempted to further understand the advantages, disadvantages, and challenges of PBL as perceived by both faculty and graduate students; After a comprehensive review of literature, two surveys were constructed, one for faculty and one for graduate students. The questions for both surveys were composed based on the information gleaned from the review of literature. The American Association of Higher Education …

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Thermal Method For Measuring Perfusion In Transplanted Organs, Fredericka Delores Brown Jan 2003

Thermal Method For Measuring Perfusion In Transplanted Organs, Fredericka Delores Brown

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Adequate blood flow to the graft kidney is critical in the postoperative care of the transplant patient. Many factors can lead to disturbance in blood flow to the kidney, including the various effects of medication or volume status of the patient. Current methods to monitor blood flow depend on either duplex ultrasound or nuclear medicine renal flow scan. These modalities do not provide continuous monitoring of renal blood flow; A non-invasive technique to the organ is developed that will allow for the continuous qualitative and quantitative monitoring of blood perfusion in a kidney during postoperative periods utilizing an easily extracted …

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Estimation Of Evapotranspiration At Different Scales Using Traditional And Remote Sensing Techniques, Lynn F Fenstermaker Jan 2003

Estimation Of Evapotranspiration At Different Scales Using Traditional And Remote Sensing Techniques, Lynn F Fenstermaker

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Water and its use or loss is critically important in the Southwestern United States where population growth is rapidly approaching the limit of available drinking water. It is therefore important to gain an understanding of water use by native and non-native species to ensure that sufficient water remains to maintain native ecosystems. This study examines water loss by the non-native tree species Tamarix ramosissima (saltcedar) at the leaf, branch and whole stand level using traditional methodologies as well as remote sensing. Transpiration measurements were estimated for open and closed stands of Tamarix ramosissima (saltcedar) at two sites within a desert …

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Geographic Variation And Behavorial Plasticity: Vigilance In Desert Bighorn Sheep (Ovis Canadensis Nelsoni) Populations, Kathleen Mary Longshore Jan 2003

Geographic Variation And Behavorial Plasticity: Vigilance In Desert Bighorn Sheep (Ovis Canadensis Nelsoni) Populations, Kathleen Mary Longshore

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Antipredator behaviors such as vigilance are often costly because they must be traded off with other activities, such as feeDing To assess geographic patterns of vigilance behavior in bighorn sheep, I tested the large-scale hypothesis that vigilance in bighorn sheep would differ between populations as a result of spatial heterogeneity in predation regimes. Mean vigilance as well as the covariation of vigilance with environmental factors such as group size and distance from escape terrain were predicted to differ among regions with and without predators. Populations under high predation risk were three populations that had originally been translocated from a mountain …

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Forecasting In The Lodging Industry: Emphasizing Regional Economic Factors, Emmett D Steed Jan 2003

Forecasting In The Lodging Industry: Emphasizing Regional Economic Factors, Emmett D Steed

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Budgeting and forecasting in the lodging industry may frequently involve the problems of inaccuracy and inefficiency, which may lead to a third problem, behavioral issues. To address these three common problems, this dissertation focuses on accuracy through quantitative analysis. Once accuracy is improved in budgeting and forecasting, efficiency would be expected to increase, and behavioral issues would be expected to decrease; The hotel revenues of all 50 states and the District of Columbia were tested for whether their hotel revenues were affected by the economic activity in three venues: the same state, the nation, or another state. Hotel revenues were …

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Biology, Culture, And Environment: The Struggle For Hegemony In Arizona, Sondra Kae Cosgrove Jan 2003

Biology, Culture, And Environment: The Struggle For Hegemony In Arizona, Sondra Kae Cosgrove

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This is an examination of the various cultural groups who have attempted to extend hegemony control over what is now the state of Arizona. Each chapter focuses on the ways different societies adapted to the region's challenging environment; paying particular attention to those that sought to integrate their neighbors into their own socioeconomic systems, whether by force or through negotiation. The rise and fall of the indigenous Hohokam civilization marks the first phase in this struggle for hegemony, while conflicts between Spaniards and Indians characterize the second. The third, and so far, final cycle concludes with Euro-Americans seizing the region …

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The Culture That Time Forgot: Nineteenth-Century Mezzogiorno Society And The Stories Of Giovanni Verga, George Guida Jan 2003

The Culture That Time Forgot: Nineteenth-Century Mezzogiorno Society And The Stories Of Giovanni Verga, George Guida

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

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The Role Of Ontology In Information Management, Renato De Freitas Marteleto Jan 2003

The Role Of Ontology In Information Management, Renato De Freitas Marteleto

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The question posed in this thesis is how the use of ontologies by information systems affects their development and their performance. Several aspects about ontologies are presented, namely design and implementation issues, representational languages, and tools for ontology manipulation. The effects of the combination of ontologies and information systems are then investigated. An ontology-based tool to identify email message features is presented, and its implementation and execution details are discussed. The use of ontologies by information systems provides a better understanding about their requirements, reduces their development time, and supports knowledge management during execution time.

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Effects Of Elevated Carbon Dioxide On Bromus Rubens And Nutritional Consequences For The Desert Tortoise, Kristen Marie Murphy Jan 2003

Effects Of Elevated Carbon Dioxide On Bromus Rubens And Nutritional Consequences For The Desert Tortoise, Kristen Marie Murphy

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to determine the effect of elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide conditions on forage quality for the desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii), using a common diet component, Bromus rubens. Nitrogen balance was monitored for tortoises fed pelleted diets reflecting the nitrogen levels of Bromus plants grown under elevated and ambient CO2 conditions, with varying potassium levels (3.5% and 1.4% DWB). Nitrogen content in the diet approached a positive correlation with total diet intake (p = 0.11), and was positively correlated with nitrogen loss at alpha = 0.10 (p = 0.08) and yet remained positively correlated with nitrogen …

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Thermoregulatory Behavior Of The Crayfish Procambarus Clarkii In A Burrow Environment, Aaron Lawrence Payette Jan 2003

Thermoregulatory Behavior Of The Crayfish Procambarus Clarkii In A Burrow Environment, Aaron Lawrence Payette

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The behavioral thermoregulation of the red swamp crayfish, Procambarus clarkii, was investigated and the environmental parameters of crayfish burrows were measured in situ. Although temperatures within burrows fluctuated less than surface temperatures in the Mojave Desert, crayfish can experience sub-optimal temperatures inside the burrow. In the laboratory, P. clarkii heated and cooled more rapidly in water than in air, selected a water temperature of 22°C, and avoided water temperatures above 31°C and below 12°C. P. clarkii displayed three main shuttling behaviors between water and air and the relative amounts of these behaviors and the time spent in air were significantly …

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Violent Teeth: The Validity And Scientific Basis For Bite Mark Evidence, Kapka Dimitrova Pchelarova Jan 2003

Violent Teeth: The Validity And Scientific Basis For Bite Mark Evidence, Kapka Dimitrova Pchelarova

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Bite marks have become widely used in criminal-cases in the last 10 years due to the fact that greater public attention to dental hygiene and professional dentistry record keeping has increased the number of dental x-rays used for compariSon Dental evidence is accepted in courts, but its validity and the scientific basis for its use as evidence, has been questioned. One problem is the wide variety of dental techniques described in the literature and the lack of direction from both European and American forensic dental organizations; The paper explores the history of scientific evidence, addresses the evidence standards presented in …

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(What You Want Hummed Here), Lara Victoria Ramsey Jan 2003

(What You Want Hummed Here), Lara Victoria Ramsey

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

(What You Want Hummed Here) represents the cumulative work of my past three years of studies in poetry as an MFA of Creative Writing candidate at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Included in the following document are a preface and manuscript of poetry. The preface details my poetic aesthetic, chiefly based on concepts of translation, negative capability, and being. The preface discusses these concepts in relation to "I" and "Other." The collected poems explore the borderlands of opposing forces such as flesh versus spirit, reality versus dream, arrival versus departure, and knowing versus not-knowing. This is a manuscript in …

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Hydrologic Impacts Due To Application Of Dust Suppressants, Vivek Singh Jan 2003

Hydrologic Impacts Due To Application Of Dust Suppressants, Vivek Singh

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This study presents research on changes in hydrologic characteristics of disturbed land surfaces that have been treated with dust suppressants. The objective of this research was to develop a better understanding of the impacts, related to application of dust suppressants. Changes in runoff characteristics were investigated in the field, using a rainfall simulator on plots (which represented disturbed land surfaces) treated with 11 different dust suppressants. Results of the study indicate a general increase in the runoff coefficient as well as an increase in the runoff rates and volume of runoff from these dust suppressant treated plots. Extrapolation of the …

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Acute Effect On Vertical Jump Performance After Two Types Of Heavy Squat Exercises, Masai Takahashi Jan 2003

Acute Effect On Vertical Jump Performance After Two Types Of Heavy Squat Exercises, Masai Takahashi

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare vertical jump heights achieved before and after performing the half squat, or the quarter squat exercise. 10 male subjects experienced with the squat exercise performed 4 warm-up squat sets followed by 1 repetition with the weight of 90% of 1 RM half squat or quarter squat. No difference in jump heights after any of the three conditions including a control group (F = 3.096, p = 0.070) was found. Correlations between the relative strength ratio and the difference in averaged jump heights before and after the half and the quarter squat conditions …

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The Relationship Between Restaurant Attribute Satisfaction And Return Intent In Theme Restaurants, Rachel Dawn Weiss Jan 2003

The Relationship Between Restaurant Attribute Satisfaction And Return Intent In Theme Restaurants, Rachel Dawn Weiss

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Theme restaurants were designed to provide their customers with a meal coupled with an entertaining experience (Bagli, 1998). After a rapid rise in popularity in the early to mid 1990's, theme restaurants began to experience a decline in market share. As the theme restaurant segment experiences the downsizing of many once popular brands, it is imperative that the industry segment investigate customer satisfaction with restaurant attributes in order to assess which areas are in need of improvement. Although much research has been conducted on customer satisfaction in the service industries, none has focused on the theme restaurant industry in particular. …

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Differences In Television Use Between Adopted And Non-Adopted College-Aged Adults, Christopher Edward Yunker Jan 2003

Differences In Television Use Between Adopted And Non-Adopted College-Aged Adults, Christopher Edward Yunker

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This thesis is an original study that examines the media usage between adoptive and non-adoptive college-aged adults United States. The beginning of this thesis will focus primarily on television's ability to get a message across to a huge audience in the shortest amount of time. It will state the hypotheses and examine the research questions being sought. Simultaneously, it will examine the effect the media has on our youth. Hypothetically, adopted children have been more susceptible to the messages delivered. It will be the intent to analyze and discuss this susceptibility further in this thesis; The survey asked the subjects …

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The Effects Of Exercise On Homocysteine Levels In Men And Women, Tracey Michelle Zuehlsdorff Jan 2003

The Effects Of Exercise On Homocysteine Levels In Men And Women, Tracey Michelle Zuehlsdorff

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

A recent coronary risk factor, and one believed to be and important biochemical marker of Coronary Heart Disease, is elevated levels of serum homocysteine (Boushley et al., 1995; Malinow et al., 1994; Malinow et al., 1999; Nygard et al., 1995; Stampfer et al., 1992). Serum homocysteine levels above 10 umol/L are considered elevated. There are several unalterable factors, which result in the elevation of homocysteine such as heredity, age, and gender. There are other factors that are alterable such as diet and possibly exercise. The purpose of the study was to determine if a 12-week daily progressive exercise program reduced …

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The Distribution Of Phosphorus In The Nature Preserve At The Clark County Wetlands Park In Las Vegas, Nevada, Rosangela Gomes Brazao Jan 2003

The Distribution Of Phosphorus In The Nature Preserve At The Clark County Wetlands Park In Las Vegas, Nevada, Rosangela Gomes Brazao

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The main objective of this thesis was to investigate the distribution of phosphorus among three different compartments of the Upper Pond at the Nature Preserve at the Clark County Wetlands Park in Las Vegas, NV: influent and effluent water, sediments, and plants. Samples were collected from September 2002 to January of 2003 and analyzed for phosphorus content. Results showed that the Upper Pond removed 55% of the ortho phosphate (OP) and 39% of the total phosphorus (TP) loadings during the study period. Sediment results showed that the East Outflow concentrated the most P (644.85 +/- 120.26 mg P Kg-1), followed …

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Strategic Training In The Use Of Causal Diagrams: Facilitation Of Superior Mental Models, Anne Seyer Poliquin Jan 2003

Strategic Training In The Use Of Causal Diagrams: Facilitation Of Superior Mental Models, Anne Seyer Poliquin

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This study focused on the influence of strategic learning on the construction of causal diagrams and their role in text learning. A causal diagram is an instructional adjunct designed to enhance text comprehension by providing a visual representation integrating elements of cause and effect. The Integrated Model of Text and Picture Comprehension (IMTPC) (Schnotz & Bannert, 1999) suggests that diagrams improve learning because they facilitate the construction of mental models via simultaneous comprehension of visual and text elements. However, there is no information on how to achieve this benefit consistently. Scevak, Moore, and Kirby (1993) have demonstrated that this benefit …

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Study Of Geometry Effects On Local Corrosion Rates For Lbe Loop, Chao Wu Jan 2003

Study Of Geometry Effects On Local Corrosion Rates For Lbe Loop, Chao Wu

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Corrosion is an extremely important issue in nuclear cooling system applications. Many scientific and engineering efforts have contributed to the research of finding an ideal material, which has resistance to corrosive Lead Bismuth Eutectic (LBE). A Delta Loop was designed and constructed in Los Alamos National Lab (LANL) to obtain the experimental data. This loop is a multi-section closed system that differs in diameter from one part to another. As a result, an intensive study on the geometry effect is necessary and valuable. In this thesis, this problem was simulated by commercial software STAR-CD. Results provide a good prediction where …

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Effects Of A Heat Acclimation Program On Physiologic And Psychological Responses To Work And Heat While Wearing Fire Ensemble, Dale Anthony Branks Jan 2003

Effects Of A Heat Acclimation Program On Physiologic And Psychological Responses To Work And Heat While Wearing Fire Ensemble, Dale Anthony Branks

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Heat acclimation program effects on rectal temperature and heart rate during walks in the heat wearing structural fire protective ensemble (FE) were examined. On six consecutive days, male subjects (N = 7) walked 30 minutes on a treadmill (46--53% V˙O2peak) within a 40 +/- 2°C, 20--22% r.h. environment, wearing FE. Rectal (Trec) mean skin (Tsk), and rectal-skin temperature gradient (T rec-Tsk), heart rate (HR), oxygen uptake (VO2), minute ventilation (VE), rating of perceived exertion (RPE), rating of thermal discomfort (RTD), sweat rate and Na+ and K+ were assessed daily. Significance (p < 0.05) was determined by one way repeated measures ANOVA. Average heart rate, and daily sweat Na+ and K+ concentrations were the only variables observed to decrease significantly during the six days. These changes however were small and represent a questionable practical benefit. Therefore, a six day heat acclimation program during summer months provides no benefit to work in the heat while wearing FE.

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Nonpoint Source Pollution During Dry And Wet Weather Flows In An Urbanized Watershed, Uma Malik Jan 2003

Nonpoint Source Pollution During Dry And Wet Weather Flows In An Urbanized Watershed, Uma Malik

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This research evaluates the quality of urban runoff, from various nonpoint sources during dry weather flows (DWF) and wet weather flows (WWF) in the Las Vegas Valley. Standard constituents in urban runoff were measured to assess the quality of urban runoff, to identify the possible sources of DWF (groundwater flows, excessive irrigation and car washing) and to determine the quality of runoff from residential areas and parking lots during WWF. DWF samples were collected from storm channels on a weekly and monthly basis. WWF samples were collected when the precipitation was at least 1mm. DWF water quality results indicated that …

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Trajectory Planning In The Presence Of Risk Regions, Michael Allan Sherwood Jan 2003

Trajectory Planning In The Presence Of Risk Regions, Michael Allan Sherwood

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

We consider the problem of developing fast algorithms for computing short collision-free paths for aerial vehicles in the presence of obstacles and enemy radar installations. When aerial vehicles are deployed in such regions, it is critical to compute admissible paths having reduced exposure to threats. The generalized version of this problem is known to be NP-hard [4]. We consider simplified versions in two dimensions. One of the specific problems we address is to adjust a given k-legged trajectory to reduce exposure to threats. We also propose an algorithm to compute a k-legged risk-reduced path using a stage graph which runs …

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Women Recovering In Alcoholics Anonymous: The Impact Of Social Bonding, Tina Marie Wininger Jan 2003

Women Recovering In Alcoholics Anonymous: The Impact Of Social Bonding, Tina Marie Wininger

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This study examines the process of same-sex bonding within the Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) women's community. More specifically, this research measures the impact of same-sex bonding on life-satisfaction and length of sobriety for alcoholic women in A.A. Linear regression analyses of survey data from female A.A. members (N = 293) indicate (1) a statistically significant relationship between Respondents' same-sex social bonding and life-satisfaction, and (2) that the effect of this social bonding on the number of years respondents have remained sober is mediated by life-satisfaction. Therefore, it is likely that higher female bonding scores among women lead to higher life-satisfaction and, …

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Development Of A Synthetic Route To Aminofluorohexenones As Precursors For Novel Caspase Inhibitors, Ping Xi Jan 2003

Development Of A Synthetic Route To Aminofluorohexenones As Precursors For Novel Caspase Inhibitors, Ping Xi

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Apoptosis is a normal biological process in which cells commit suicide. In cancer cells, a family of proteases called caspases, is involved in one or more of the signaling pathways leading to apoptosis. To better understand this cellular mechanism at the molecular level, selective inhibition of each caspase would allow scientists to determine the exact function of that caspase in the overall pathway. The long term goal of this research project is the synthesis of new, highly specific caspase inhibitors that will be used to study the mechanism of apoptosis in certain cancer cells. The first step, and the primary …

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Qualitative Scoring Procedures For The Detection Of Malingering Using The Wechsler Memory Scale - Third Edition, Joshua E Caron Jan 2003

Qualitative Scoring Procedures For The Detection Of Malingering Using The Wechsler Memory Scale - Third Edition, Joshua E Caron

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Individuals undergoing neuropsychological evaluation are often involved in litigation for compensation. Consequently, much incentive to perform poorly on neuropsychological assessments exists. Thus, sophisticated detection methods are desirable. One promising approach may be to utilize qualitative scoring that provides information regarding the test taking strategy. Many current methods use a single quantitative score to discriminate people who malinger cognitive deficits, which may overlook sensitive information and be less accurate. This study developed and applied qualitative scoring procedures for the WMS-III and evaluated them using four experimental groups: sophisticated malingerer, naive malingerer, normal control, and brain damage. Results were mixed. When added …

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Converging Behaviorist And Constructivist Theories In Classroom Settings, Lisa M Freitas Jan 2003

Converging Behaviorist And Constructivist Theories In Classroom Settings, Lisa M Freitas

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Educators attempts to meet the needs of all students become more difficult as school districts are forced to reduce spending which may result in increased class sizes, elimination of second language and enrichment programs, and a reduction in school personnel at school sites. With these budget cuts the demands placed on educators will be even greater. Teachers will be forced to implement new strategies to ensure that no child is left behind. The purpose of this study is to assess the effectiveness of converging behaviorist and constructvist theories into classroom management and instructional practices. Three groups of students were randomly …

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Crit, Andrew Kiraly Jan 2003

Crit, Andrew Kiraly

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This creative thesis, a long work of fiction, is about a rock critic, Gabe Sack, who writes for a Los Angeles-based music magazine. He is tired of his job and decides to quit. However, his boss gives him one final assignment: he must track down an obscure lounge singer and write a profile of him. With his friends Staley and Darcy in tow, Gabe drives to Las Vegas. During the trip, he reflects on his life, his attitude, and his relationships with others. He senses that his job, which requires him to criticize the work of others, has had negative …

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