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2006

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Kinematic Comparison Of Running Barefoot And In The Nike Free 50, Janet R Griffin Jan 2006

Kinematic Comparison Of Running Barefoot And In The Nike Free 50, Janet R Griffin

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if knee and ankle kinematics during running were similar when running with bare feet and while running in a shoe designed to mimic barefoot running. Ten footfalls per subject-condition were evaluated kinematically using a 12-camera Vicon motion capture system (120 Hz) for 9 female runners (26.9 +/- 4.0 yrs, 63.7 +/- 5.9 kg, 168.0 +/- 7.5 cm) at 4 times within two 8 minute conditions (barefoot and test shoes) on a treadmill. Seven knee and ankle variables representing impact (knee angle, ankle angle, and knee angular velocity) and stance (peak knee angle, …


The Long Term Effects Of Divorce On Professional Adult Dancers, Brent Fladmo Jan 2006

The Long Term Effects Of Divorce On Professional Adult Dancers, Brent Fladmo

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The most dramatic change in family life in contemporary society is the divorce rate (Amato, 2000), with numerous studies analyzing and examining divorce and its implications (Rao, 2002). According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 50% of marriages are terminated (Bowles, 2005). In addition, Martin, Specter, Martin, and Martin (2003) reported that the United States has the highest remarriage rate in the world, and second marriages account for nearly half of all current marriages (Wallerstein, 2005). Children who experience divorce are subjected to more stressful life changes, such as relocation (Harris, 1995), economic decline (Hetherington, 1989; Nelson, 1993), a decrease …


Technetium And Rhenium In Volcanic Soils By Icpms, Clifton Lee Jones Jan 2006

Technetium And Rhenium In Volcanic Soils By Icpms, Clifton Lee Jones

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Technetium-99 (99Tc) and rhenium (Re) were determined in volcanic tuff muck rock, from the potential repository at Yucca Mountain and in nuclear bomb cavity samples from the Nevada Test Site (NTS). These analyses were performed in order to test the feasibility of using high resolution inductively couple plasma mass spectrometry (HR-ICPMS) for the determination of 99Tc. Six 20 gram tuff samples were analyzed in duplicate for 99Tc and Re following separation using an anion exchange resin to remove potential interferences. Four nuclear bomb cavity samples were analyzed using one gram samples. A 99Tc method detection limit (MDL) of 33 pg/kg …


Dose Comparison Of Multi-Slice Computed Tomography Scanners, James J Kelley Jan 2006

Dose Comparison Of Multi-Slice Computed Tomography Scanners, James J Kelley

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The rapid technological advances in CT over the past 30 years have resulted in a steady increase in the number of CT scans being performed annually, making it the major source of exposure to the population via diagnostic x-rays. With this increased utilization, the concerns over patient radiation doses from CT have also grown. Although CT studies only amount to about 5% of all X-ray examinations, it contributes approximately 40% of the collective dose from diagnostic radiology to the population. This fact has made CT dosimetry an important topic in diagnostic radiology today. The introduction of multislice scanners has focused …


An Arima-Model-Based Approach With Hazard Area For The Probability Of Volcanic Disruption Of The Proposed High-Level Radioactive Waste Repositiory At Yucca Mountain, Nevada, Usa, Xiaojuan Liu Jan 2006

An Arima-Model-Based Approach With Hazard Area For The Probability Of Volcanic Disruption Of The Proposed High-Level Radioactive Waste Repositiory At Yucca Mountain, Nevada, Usa, Xiaojuan Liu

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

An interesting extension of advanced time-series analysis techniques is introduced into the domain of volcanological data exploration. A new and innovative use of the well-known ARIMA method for modeling the recurrence rate of volcanism ranging from simple Poissonian volcanoes to those showing cyclic trends is presented. Specifically, we propose a new tool to fingerprint the eruptive behavior of a volcano, which also links some modeling tools of two of the most developed areas in the literature of statistics: stochastic processes and time series. Valuable modeling and computing insights are discussed using a data set from the volcanic database at Yucca …


The Forgotten Chinese Cemetery Of Carlin Nevada: A Bioanthropological Assessment, Ryan William Schmidt Jan 2006

The Forgotten Chinese Cemetery Of Carlin Nevada: A Bioanthropological Assessment, Ryan William Schmidt

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The investigation of historical cemeteries enables direct assessment of biological variability, health and disease, and additional insights into populations that have gone relatively undocumented in North America and elsewhere. This thesis examines a historic cemetery located in northern Nevada, in the town of Carlin. A total of 13 well-preserved skeletal individuals were excavated in 1996, all buried within coffins and whose Chinese origin has been confirmed through historical documentation and associated artifacts (Chung et al. 2005). Although the sample size is small, it provides a number of important insights into the health and behavior of early Chinese-American communities, including dental …


Converting Ccsd Prototype Elementary School Into Leed(Tm) Rated Building, Jagandeep Singh Jan 2006

Converting Ccsd Prototype Elementary School Into Leed(Tm) Rated Building, Jagandeep Singh

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The study focuses on researching whether CCSD Prototype Elementary School can be turned into a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) building without major design modifications, to the materials and orientation of the builDing The study discusses the need for a prototype building, which might not be suitable for the site. The study discusses the need of green building, the major green building rating systems in use today and the reasons for choosing LEED. LEED rating system was studied in detail and the prototype elementary school building was evaluated over the LEED criteria. Then the school building was recommended …


The Presidential Performance Of George W. Bush As A Visual Construct, Kristen Allen Stetzenbach Jan 2006

The Presidential Performance Of George W. Bush As A Visual Construct, Kristen Allen Stetzenbach

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine George W. Bush's performance as President of the United States through mediated visual messages. In this paper performance will be conceptualized using a content analysis method. This paper presents the notion that presidential performance and the job of being president are linked. The study is meant to watch President Bush and document his appearances as seen through mediated images. The New York Times' front pages from George W. Bush's first inauguration in January 2001 up to his re-election and second oath of office in 2005 were analyzed for six categories of visual …


Identification And Comparison Of Crash Risk For Older Drivers, Vamsi K Surapaneni Jan 2006

Identification And Comparison Of Crash Risk For Older Drivers, Vamsi K Surapaneni

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The focus of this research is to identify risk factors for older drivers (drivers of age greater than 65 years) involved in motor vehicle crashes and compare the risk factors with those for other age groups. Developing such risk factors helps in better understanding the causes of crashes involving older drivers. The risk factors are developed based on analyses of network characteristics and other related factors which have an impact on rate of crashes involving older drivers. The factors evaluated include crash severity, collision type, contributing factors, functional class and road class. Other information included in the analyses includes demographic …


The Etiological Role Of Susto In Diabetes Among Hispanics In Southern Nevada, Carin K Wallace Jan 2006

The Etiological Role Of Susto In Diabetes Among Hispanics In Southern Nevada, Carin K Wallace

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This thesis explores the association between susto, a Hispanic folk explanation of disease, and type 2 diabetes. This association is explored through a focus group and semi-structured interviews, with participants recruited from a population of 300 diabetes patients under treatment by a local non-profit group. Results show that not only is susto thought to be an important cause of diabetes among Hispanic diabetics and their family members, but that the meaning of susto may be changing; no longer thought of as solely a frightful event, it is a description of the resulting emotions as well. The role of emotions such …


Literature Based Discovery: Techniques And Tools, Ramalakshmi Sundar Jan 2006

Literature Based Discovery: Techniques And Tools, Ramalakshmi Sundar

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Literature Based Discovery (LBD) was initially proposed by Don R. Swanson in 1980 as a method to establish relationships between disease and remedy from disjoint science literature. Consequently, he established a link between magnesium and migraines. Since then literature based discovery has been a subject of research and development for discovery in online medical publications. It has further been investigated in both chemistry and mathematics; In this thesis, we give an overview of LBD and the software tools necessary to automate this technique. We further provide an implementation of this technique that is intended to be used for computer science …


The Struggle For Dignity: Mexican-Americans In The Pacific Northwest, 1900--2000, James Michael Slone Jan 2006

The Struggle For Dignity: Mexican-Americans In The Pacific Northwest, 1900--2000, James Michael Slone

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This thesis explores the struggle for political, social, and labor rights waged by the Mexican and Mexican-American people in the Pacific Northwest. Drawing on earlier histories, social studies, census materials, interviews and newspapers articles spanning the twentieth century, the paper locates the roots of the community in the early twentieth century and details the organizing activities of farm workers, the direct political action of students, and the efforts of the whole community to attain political representation, economic power, and some measure of hard earned dignity. This study is equal parts political history, social history, and labor history, ultimately indicting an …


Alpha Particle Transport In Voxelized Trabecular Bone Images, George Tabatadze Jan 2006

Alpha Particle Transport In Voxelized Trabecular Bone Images, George Tabatadze

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Alpha particles are of current interest in radionuclide therapy due to their short range and high rates of energy transfer to target tissues. Published values of alpha-particle absorbed fractions in skeletal tissues do not vary with particle energy, cellularity or skeletal site. To correct for this, absorbed fractions are calculated using Monte Carlo techniques in 3D voxelized images. In this study absorbed fraction values are acquired for deep marrow (TAM), shallow marrow (TAMS), and trabecular bone volume (TBV) targets for a broad energy spectrum of alpha particles originating in the TAM, TAMs, and TBV of 33 voxelized images. Additionally the …


Ubiquitous Health Monitoring System For Seniors, Kamesh Khanna Andisamy Vijayakumar Jan 2006

Ubiquitous Health Monitoring System For Seniors, Kamesh Khanna Andisamy Vijayakumar

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The Ubiquitous Health Monitoring System for Seniors is a prototype for an implantable module that is designed to eliminate critical delays in receiving medical attention upon the development of a heart attack. In particular, the prototype is to detect the onset of heart attacks in real time, and to use a Bluetooth wireless link to signal the patient's mobile phone to dial emergency personnel in the event of an abnormality. The unit also records and logs the temperature of the user. Since the unit holds a GPS in it the current position of the user can be constantly monitored and …


Application Of Computational Fluid Dynamics For High Energy Efficiency Design With Human Comfort Of Cad-Vav And Ufad Systems, Bhanu Rekha Bandhakavi Jan 2006

Application Of Computational Fluid Dynamics For High Energy Efficiency Design With Human Comfort Of Cad-Vav And Ufad Systems, Bhanu Rekha Bandhakavi

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This thesis deals with the numerical simulation of the ceiling air distribution (CAD) system and the Under Floor Air Distribution (UFAD) system based on the dimensions of BTLab at UNLV. Ceiling Air Distribution (CAD) with variable air volume (VAV) and Under Floor Air Distribution (UFAD) systems have been widely used in different countries. CAD-VAV and UFAD systems designs have been influenced by increasing emphasis on indoor air quality (IAQ), energy conservation, environmental effects, safety, and economics. So, 3-D Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis technique was applied to design high energy efficiency and human comfort CAD-VAV and UFAD systems. The goal …


Acculturation And Sexuality: Investigating Gender Differences In Erotic Plasticity, Lorraine Benuto Jan 2006

Acculturation And Sexuality: Investigating Gender Differences In Erotic Plasticity, Lorraine Benuto

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Baumeister's theory on female erotic plasticity is supported by a significant body of data that suggests that female sexuality is more malleable than male sexuality and thus more greatly influenced by external factors. Seeking to test Baumeister's theory, this study examined the potential differential impact of the acculturation process on the sexual attitudes and experiences of 188 college men and 310 college women. Sexual attitudes and experiences were measured using the Derogatis Sexual Functioning Inventory and acculturation level was determined using the General Ethnicity Questionnaire. Between-gender analyses revealed that the acculturation process did not have more of a liberalizing effect …


Residential Lead Hazards, Nutritional Deficiencies, And Socio-Cultural Factors Related To Hispanic Children With Blood Lead Levels Greater Than Or Equal To Five Micrograms Per Deciliter, Elena E Cabb Jan 2006

Residential Lead Hazards, Nutritional Deficiencies, And Socio-Cultural Factors Related To Hispanic Children With Blood Lead Levels Greater Than Or Equal To Five Micrograms Per Deciliter, Elena E Cabb

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

One of the most significant public health successes during the late 20th century was the reduction of blood lead levels among children in the United States. However, lead continues to be a public health issue because it often affects minority children of lower socioeconomic status, who live in older homes. Young children are especially susceptible to the harmful affects of lead due to their vulnerable developmental state. According to research, the most common sources of lead exposure for U.S. children are lead-based paint and lead-contaminated dust in the home; This study examined residential lead hazards, nutritional deficiencies, and socio-cultural factors …


A Doctor's Conscience: Conventional And Reflective Morality In Clinical Decision Making, John Elliot Delap Jan 2006

A Doctor's Conscience: Conventional And Reflective Morality In Clinical Decision Making, John Elliot Delap

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This work examines ethical theories of deontology, teleology, internal and external morality as applied in conventional and reflective moral methods towards equilibrium among eight normative values for healthcare including: autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, justice, privacy, confidentiality, veracity and fidelity. Upon critical analysis of conventional and reflective moral praxis's both are found to be insufficient in accommodating value pluralism. This work concludes by outlining a hybrid model for ethical decision making complementing both theories by bringing together conventions and reflection to more effectively guide professional medical practice toward the teleological aim of medicine.


Lead Contamination Risks From Imported Candies: Developing A Protocol To Test For Lead In Candy Products Using The X-Ray Flouresence Instrument, Tracy L Donnelly Jan 2006

Lead Contamination Risks From Imported Candies: Developing A Protocol To Test For Lead In Candy Products Using The X-Ray Flouresence Instrument, Tracy L Donnelly

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The problem of lead in candies imported from Latin America and or Thailand is an important public health issue. These candies come from a number of sources, with lead often being present when tamarind or chili pepper is used as an ingredient. Currently, it is expensive and time consuming for heath protection agencies to test candy that has entered the consumer market in the United States. Hence children may potentially be exposed to lead contamination. If community health agencies had access to XRF technology, health agencies could quickly determine if specific candies contain lead. To date, there has not been …


Racial Profiling In Las Vegas: A Reexamination Of Police Stop Data In Las Vegas, Daniel Eric Doran Jan 2006

Racial Profiling In Las Vegas: A Reexamination Of Police Stop Data In Las Vegas, Daniel Eric Doran

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Racial profiling remains the subject of controversy when discussing police and minority relationships. Recently, scholars have studied this controversial issue in an attempt to determine the characteristics and extent of the problem. Although researchers have suggested possible reasons for racial disparities in traffic stop data, more information is needed to develop a more in-depth understanding of these disparities. The study presented here analyzes traffic stop data from Las Vegas during the 2002 calendar year. The study analyzes key driver characteristics and whether these characteristics influence the officer's search or arrest of the driver. The study uses univariate, bivariate, and multivariate …


Binaural Beats Enhance Alpha Wave Activity, Memory, And *Attention In Healthy-Aging Seniors, Janice Colleen Mcmurray Jan 2006

Binaural Beats Enhance Alpha Wave Activity, Memory, And *Attention In Healthy-Aging Seniors, Janice Colleen Mcmurray

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Human aging will be one of the biggest challenges we face during this century and optimizing health for the rapidly growing older population is imperative to avoid end of life suffering. Uncovering stimuli and methods that may enhance memory and attentional focus in the aging brain has become a priority. Current research demonstrates a connection between neurocognitive decline in seniors over 65 years and deficits in alpha frequency brainwave activity. Studies indicate that specific auditory tones have a significant effect on our brainwaves and provide a positive influence. These tones have been defined as alpha-harmonic sound patterns and they are …


Exploring The Effects Of Online Instructional Models On The Writing Achievement Of High School Students With And Without Disabilities, Bradley Jon Kaffar Jan 2006

Exploring The Effects Of Online Instructional Models On The Writing Achievement Of High School Students With And Without Disabilities, Bradley Jon Kaffar

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of three online models for teaching a paragraph writing strategy to students with and without disabilities. A learning strategist instructor implemented The Paragraph Writing Strategy (Schumaker & Lyerla, 1993) using three treatment groups that included the following online models: (a) Power Point media, (b) streaming video, and (c) multimedia (Power Point and video). Participants were 121 high school students in grades 9 through 12 enrolled in an online charter school program; there were 27 students with disabilities and 94 students without disabilities. Data were collected to answer five research questions …


Effects Of Selective Attention On Preschool Teacher And Child Behavior, Keri Leigh Altig Jan 2006

Effects Of Selective Attention On Preschool Teacher And Child Behavior, Keri Leigh Altig

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Teachers of preschool-aged children influence the development of preschool-aged children. As more children are enrolled in preschool centers, teachers of preschool-aged children need to be equipped with many strategies to encourage child development. One way teachers can encourage child development is to provide activities and structure so the child will engage with the environment; This study examined the effects of training teachers of preschool-aged children to use selective attention and how training effected child engagement during circle time activities. Two classrooms in each of two preschool centers were selected. Teachers were trained on how to use the selective attention approach …


Environmental Factors Affecting Retention And Graduation In Mlt /Clt Programs, Patricia R Castro Jan 2006

Environmental Factors Affecting Retention And Graduation In Mlt /Clt Programs, Patricia R Castro

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The quality of education delivered to medical laboratory technician/clinical laboratory technician (MLT/CLT) students has been an evolving concern for the clinical laboratory sciences profession. This situation prompted consideration of various factors in MLT/CLT education to determine if student/program characteristics affected student performance; Principles extracted from Alexander Astin's Input-Environment-Output (I-E-O) model were used as a foundation for considering the factors that affect MLT/CLT program student outcomes. Input, environmental, and outcome variables related to MLT/CLT programs were identified for study; A literature review was conducted to gather information relevant to the development of clinical laboratory science practice and education, curriculum development and …


Dissimulation Of Mental Retardation And Traumatic Brain Injury On The Wais -Ii, Joshua E Caron Jan 2006

Dissimulation Of Mental Retardation And Traumatic Brain Injury On The Wais -Ii, Joshua E Caron

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Since Atkins v. Virginia (2002), there has been increased concern that inmates will feign mental retardation (MR) to avoid the death penalty. However, very little research on malingering diction for mental retardation has been conducted, forcing most clinicians to rely on methods derived for malingered traumatic brain injury (TBI). This lack of research may lead to increased false positive rates. Limited research suggests that intelligence tests may hold promise for identifying malingered MR and malingered TBI. Therefore, developing malingering scales for most popular measure of intelligence, the WAIS-III, should provide the most effective and efficient measure for identifying persons feigning …


Identifying Informal Advisors Among Neuromuscular Specialists, Jane Elizabeth Karwoski Jan 2006

Identifying Informal Advisors Among Neuromuscular Specialists, Jane Elizabeth Karwoski

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Quality improvement efforts in healthcare services often center on influencing provider behavior through clinical practice guidelines and research evidence. Passive dissemination of such information has quite limited effects on medical practice. Active implementation strategies focus on translating knowledge into practice, at times recruiting local physicians as "opinion leaders" to act as change agents, champion the adoption of new practice parameters, and promote the diffusion of medical innovation; This study developed an instrument to identify neuromuscular specialists whose advice is valued by colleagues, thus extending and updating similar work among educationally influential community physicians by Hiss, Macdonald, and Davis (1978). Neuromuscular …


Evaluating The Effect Of Merit Aid As A Higher Education *Policy Tool Using Time Series Analysis, Michelle Johanna Nilson Jan 2006

Evaluating The Effect Of Merit Aid As A Higher Education *Policy Tool Using Time Series Analysis, Michelle Johanna Nilson

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Since 1991, seventeen states have dramatically altered the criteria they use to distribute student financial aid to include a larger proportion of merit-based awards. Across these states, the amounts and lengths of the awards vary. There are states, such as Georgia and Florida, which provide full tuition and fees for four or five years, depending on the program of study. In sharp contrast, Michigan's Merit Award Scholarship is a one time {dollar}2,500 award. States also differ in terms of the selection criteria used to award merit aid a quasi-experimental interrupted and pooled time series design derived from research on public …


Investigating The Perceptions Of Academic Dishonesty Among Special Educators, Jane M Sileo Jan 2006

Investigating The Perceptions Of Academic Dishonesty Among Special Educators, Jane M Sileo

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The purposes of this study were: (a) to investigate the perceptions of academic dishonesty among special education faculty and students particularly related to the subtleties or gray areas that surround issues of academic dishonesty, (b) to determine how to decrease incidences of academic dishonesty, and (c) to find potential solutions to the problem of academic dishonesty. The participants in this study were special education full-time and adjunct faculty and special education undergraduate and graduate students. Data were collected using the Faculty Perspectives Survey and the Student Perspectives Survey. These surveys measured opinions regarding what constitutes cheating in traditional and online …


Remembering The Pain: Psychosocial Factors Related To Endometriotic Pain And Its Recall, Sarah E Nunnink Jan 2006

Remembering The Pain: Psychosocial Factors Related To Endometriotic Pain And Its Recall, Sarah E Nunnink

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Endometriosis is a chronic and debilitating disease, affecting women of childbearing years in a variety of ways, including infertility, dyspareunia, dysmenorrhea, and chronic pelvic pain. Diagnosis and treatment planning are guided primarily by retrospective pain recall, regardless of the fact that (1) there is only a tenuous relationship between pain reports and physical pathology and (2) the accuracy of pain recall has never been assessed in this population. The current study investigated the accuracy of endometriotic pain recall over a 30-day period, as well as potential psychological mediators to pain recall accuracy, including general psychological wellbeing, distress specific to infertility, …


An Analysis Of Fiscal Allocations In Elementary Schools Meeting And Not Meeting Ayp, William Roy Michael Barton Jan 2006

An Analysis Of Fiscal Allocations In Elementary Schools Meeting And Not Meeting Ayp, William Roy Michael Barton

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This study used a sequential explanatory, mixed-methods design to explore the relationship between fiscal decision making and the school improvement planning process at school sites in a large, southwestern school district and the impact those decisions and decision-making processes may have had on student achievement outcomes in elementary schools; The methodology for the study is comprised of two research phases. Phase I included a quantitative analysis of elementary school expenditure patterns across those categories delineated in the Cooper's and Lybrand's Finance Analysis Model databank for a large urban district in the southwest. Comparisons were made across three sub-groups of elementary …