Digital Commons Network^™

Dropout And Graduation Rates In Nevada, Sandra D. Owens-Kane

Social Health of Nevada Reports

This report spotlights the high school graduation and dropout rates in Nevada, shows how the trends in our state compared to the trends in other states, and outlines community resources available to Nevadans seeking to improve their educational achievements. High school dropout and graduation rates are key indicators by which we judge an educational system. The importance of these indicators stems from the fact that higher educational achievement correlates positively with individual and community social health – e.g., the higher the graduation rates of individuals within a community, the greater the level of personal fulfillment and community development. Conversely, high …

Academic Achievement And School Resources In Nevada, Teresa Jordan

Social Health of Nevada Reports

For several decades there has been a growing concern in the United States over the student achievement in our public schools. In 1983, the National Commission on Excellence in Education issued a report, A Nation at Risk, http://www.ed.gov/pubs/NatAtRisk/index.html, that called for educational reform. As student achievement scores declined, even with increased investment in education, the business community, policy makers, and educators rallied to address a vital issue for our future: how to improve student achievement and ensure that the 21st century workforce has the knowledge and skills to compete in a global economy.

Marriage And Family Life In Nevada, Stephen M. Wilson, Jeanne Hilton

Social Health of Nevada Reports

For almost twenty years, Nevada has been the fastest growing state in the country. Much of this growth is due to numerous immigrant and retiree families moving in every day, creating unique challenges to the state. On the other hand, Nevada ’s families, like families in the rest of the United States , are changing in predictable ways. Over the last century, families have become smaller and more diverse. Today, families are not only smaller, but they move more often, have more family members living into old age, enjoy better health, and have more education and wealth than has been …

Delinquency And Crime In Nevada, Stephanie Kent, Deborah K. Shaffer

Social Health of Nevada Reports

The United States has always had significantly higher crime rates than other developed nations, and its juvenile crime rates repeat this pattern. Scholars have offered various explanations for this discrepancy, ranging from structural reasons such as a high level of income inequality in the U.S. to the cultural values that encourage Americans to be individualistic, seek autonomy, and engage in violent conduct. Crime issues have received a good deal of attention from American scholars and politicians, with delinquency remaining a major focus of criminological inquiry for more than 50 years. While scholarly literature now includes many studies focused on different …

Problem Gambling And Treatment In Nevada, Bo Bernhard

Social Health of Nevada Reports

For many years, it was moral experts, rather than medical and academic ones, who told us who gambled “too much.” Speaking from pulpits rather than podiums, church leaders informed us that gambling was uniquely subversive of the American way of life, for its something-for-nothing promise threatened to undermine the popular ethic of honest toil and gradual accumulation of goods. Samuel Hopkins, in an 1835 sermon on “The Evils of Gambling,” captured this sensibility: “Let the gambler know that he is watched, and marked; and that . . . he is loathed. Let the man who dares to furnish a resort …

Teen Sexuality And Pregnancy In Nevada, Marta Meana, Lea Thaler

Social Health of Nevada Reports

The United States has the highest rate of teen pregnancy in the fully industrialized world. While the rates have been declining in the last 15 years, it remains a source of concern that

• 34% of teenage girls in the U.S. are becoming pregnant at least once before the age of 20.
• The teen pregnancy in the U.S. rate is ten times that of Japan, four times those of France and Germany, and nearly twice that of Great Britain.

Prenatal Care And Infant Mortality In Nevada, Cynthia C. Huth, Phil Nowak, Chuck Duarte

Social Health of Nevada Reports

Prenatal care, also known as antepartum care, refers to the health services that a pregnant woman receives before a baby’s birth. Health care providers know from numerous studies that prenatal care is important because potential problems that may endanger the mother or her baby may be discovered and treated prior to birth. In many cases, potential problems can be prevented altogether. Because of this, it is important that the pregnant woman not only begins prenatal care early, but also receives continuous care throughout her pregnancy. The preconception (before pregnancy) care is also an important factor affecting the future mother’s and …

Mental Health Problems And Needs In Nevada, Kathryn Landreth, Simon Gottschalk, Carlos Brandenburg

Social Health of Nevada Reports

Attitudes toward people with mental health problems have varied throughout historical periods and cultures. At times, they were believed to possess divine powers, and at others were cast as possessed by evil forces. In ancient Greece, Iraq, and India, for example, people with mental disorders were treated humanely, while in other cultures they were executed, tortured, shunned, and pushed to the margins of society. Today, most societies strive to treat the mentally ill in a humane manner and integrate them in society’s mainstream.

Diseases Prevalence And Behavioral Choices In Nevada, Mary Guinan, Chad L. Cross, Lawrence Sands

Social Health of Nevada Reports

Determining the health of a state population is a complex task. It involves knowing at least the prevalence of various diseases and conditions as well as the leading causes of death and disability compared to a national mean or median. The World Health Organization defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” Since health is affected by numerous social, economic, environmental, and cultural factors, these factors must also be considered when examining the health status of a population. All attempts to rank states in health are limited …

Health Care Access And Insurance Availability In Nevada, Charles B. Moseley, Michelle Sotero

Social Health of Nevada Reports

According to the Institute of Medicine (IOM),

• Approximately 18,000 Americans die prematurely every year, solely because they lack health insurance coverage (Institute of Medicine, 2004).
• The IOM estimates that the aggregate cost of increased morbidity and mortality due to un-insurance in the U.S. is between $65 billion and $130 billion per year.
• Costs to the health care system can be measured conservatively in terms of the value of uncompensated care provided to the uninsured, estimated at almost $35 billion in 2001, of which $24 billion was provided by hospitals.

Access to medical care is not a constitutional right in the …

Disability Rights And Resources In Nevada, Janet S. Belcove-Shalin

Social Health of Nevada Reports

Attitudes toward people with disabilities have changed dramatically over the course of the last hundred years. In the 19th century, individuals with serious physical or mental issues were singled out for pity and urged to accept their afflictions as the will of God. The government offered no assistance to these persons, relying instead on alms giving from religious institutions and philanthropic organizations.

Environment And The Quality Of Life In Nevada, Robert Futrell

Social Health of Nevada Reports

When the first environmental decade was launched in the U.S. more than thirty years ago with the inaugural Earth Day, protecting our air, water, land and other natural resources seemed a relatively simple task. Environmental polluters and exploiters would be brought to heel by tough laws. The U.S. and other industrialized nations responded to quality of life concerns associated with the degradation of the natural environment by adopting dozens of major environmental and resource policies and creating new institutions such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to manage environmental programs. With a sense of urgency Congress passed the Clean Air …

Transforming The Suburban Realm: A Call For Diversification In The Las Vegas Home-Building Process, Kory W Harris

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

More U.S. residents live within suburban boundaries than they do the central cities and rural regions combined---creating a need for suburban design methods that adequately meet the desires of the suburban population. The design of suburban neighborhoods over the past several decades, however, has not adequately met the needs of its residents. This dilemma has only intensified over the past several years because of an increasingly varied group of potential hornebuyers. Local, state, and federal governments---as well as land developers, planners, and architects---need to raise awareness to the issues facing suburban design. By incorporating strategic design elements into the development …

Creating Higher Education In Southern Nevada: A Framing Study Of Local Newspaper Coverage, Christine Janssen

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This study seeks to analyze and understand how Southern Nevada's two local newspapers framed the creation of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and Nevada State College. A brief history of the editorial and political philosophies of the Las Vegas Review Journal and the Las Vegas Sun is presented, followed by a review of the literature on framing theory, and the theory that communities are formed by communication. Dominant frames are identified through text analysis of 486 newspaper articles. Frames are categorized by a central theme, metaphors suggested by the frame, and images, catch phrases and vocabulary used in the …

The Evolution Of The Gaelic Mythos Through Twentieth-Century Drama, Kristina Ann Mcgraw

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

In this thesis I will explore the Gaelic mythos as it evolved in Irish drama throughout the twentieth century. I will begin by surveying postcolonial theories of imperialism's effect on culture, drawing comparisons to Ireland's reaction to colonialism. I will then discuss the Celtic Revival movement, as propagated by W. B. Yeats, Lady Augusta Gregory and John Millington Synge at the turn of the twentieth century. I will discuss this movement's use of Gaelic folklore and mythology through its drama; Next, I will consider this mythology's reception by later dramatists, represented by Sean O'Casey and Brian Friel. I will examine …

Female Gender Themes In Women's Magazines: A Content Analysis Testing And Extending Themes Uncovered By Erving Goffman, Sarah Elizabeth Morton

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This study is based on the ideas and studies of Erving Goffman (1922-1982), an influential sociologist and communications scholar (Manning, 1992). Most prior scholars, such as McLaughlin (1999) and Reichert (2003), have chosen to simply repeat and reaffirm Goffman's themes, while largely ignoring that both times and society have changed. Thus, this study proposes not only to repeat Goffman's methods, but also to extend and retest his findings in the modern day. A quantitative content analysis will be employed, using the following women's magazines: Cosmopolitan, In Style, Allure, Glamour, and Marie Claire. The replication of this study is imperative in …

Lakesha And Kushawn: A Cultural Linguistic Approach To Afro-American Onomastics, Clara J Senif

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This thesis is a cultural linguistic study of Afro-American naming patterns from the 1960's through the present. I show that personal name choices are reflective of the cultural-historical influences present at the time that any given name choice is made. In the Afro-American community this influence is reflected in the manifestation of an entirely new pattern of names which are herein labeled as 'constructive'. Constructive names are formed by the use of one or more 'freefixes' and will be shown to be illustrative of the Afro-American desire for ethnic identity collectively and individually.

Examining The Influence And Developmental Impact Of After-School/Out-Of-School Programs On Youths From High Risk Environments, Ranna Jane Daud

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Currently, thousands of youth-based programs exist to promote education, enhance development and instill a sense of belonging and competence in inner-city/urban youth. After-school programs have been found to develop resilience in adolescents (Morrison, Storino, Robertson, Weissgass, & Dondero, 2000) by providing opportunities for growth, increasing academic achievement (Mahoney, Lord, & Carryl, 2005), providing a safe environment (Kahne, Nagoaka, Brown, O'Brien, Quinn, & Thiede, 2001), creating supportive and significant relationships (Hall, Yohalem, Tolman, & Wilson, 2003), and keeping youth out of harms way. Furthermore, after-school programs have been found to increase academic potential, increase attendance rates in school, and promote academic …

Perceptions Of Discharge Instructions By The Emergency Department Patient, Darlene Brown

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Patient education is an essential part of the nursing process and is part of every nurse-patient interaction. A better patient outcome is the combination of teaching completeness and patient comprehension. When the nurse-patient interaction takes place in the emergency department (ED), the instruction is taking place in a less than conducive environment; The ED's have become a health care safety net for people with a variety of available resources and literacy levels. An indicator of how well patient education is accomplished by looking at this teaching through the patient's eyes. A sample of 30 adult patients was surveyed one week …

The Romance Of Self-Surrender In Four Historical Novels Of Helen C White, Joyce Ahn

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Helen C. White (1896--1967), a long-time professor of English at the University of Wisconsin Madison, was also an accomplished historical novelist. Although her six novels met with popular and critical success on publication, they seem to be largely forgotten today, and all are currently out of print. This study examines four of White's six novels, A Watch in the Night, Not Built with Hands, Dust on the King's Highway, and Bird of Fire, in light of the romance of self-surrender they portray. Each of the novel's protagonists---Jacopone da Todi, Countess Matilda of Tuscany, Father Francisco Garces, and St. Francis of …

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 …

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 …

Motives For Recreational Gambling And Other Recreation Activities Among Internet Users, Laurie Platz

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This research examined whether there was a qualitative or quantitative difference between recreational gamblers' motives for participating in their one favorite gambling activity and their one favorite recreational activity. The rationale is to demonstrate that gambling is comparable to other recreational activities. The sample for this study was recruited on the Internet through newsgroups with bulletin boards. After deletion of cases that did not qualify for analysis, 133 people qualified for full analysis by scoring 0 on the NODS gambling screen (classified as recreational gamblers) and by completing the Recreation Experience Preference scales for both gambling and other recreational activities. …

Public College Students' Academic Experiences And Performance In Utah's Religious Enclave, Joe Peterson

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Many American colleges were established in "religious enclaves," regions dominated by somewhat homogeneous religious cultures that were formed when cobelievers experienced socially inhospitable conditions and removed themselves from the culturally diverse mainstream and gathered into more homogeneous cultural strongholds. Through modernization and urbanization, many former religious enclaves have evolved into pluralistic social settings; however, one large enclave remains. In Utah, students at public colleges and universities experience a cultural environment where the LDS (Mormon) religion has overwhelming demographic dominance (77 percent of Utah's population in 2000, Grammich, 2004, p. 20). This dissertation explores the influence of the enclave milieu on …

An Exploration Of The Alienation Experienced By African American Parents From Their Child's Educational Environment, Regina R Brandon

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Current research suggests that parents are one of the key components to the school success of their children. The literature indicates that parent interest and involvement impacts education in the areas of: (a) quality of instruction received, (b) student respect for learning, and (c) student excellence in school. Involved parents simply make the educational system better. However, in today's world, parents often work long hours, have more than one job, and participate in multiple responsibilities that may limit their participation. Because of the variety of factors that impinge on parents, educators often criticize them for their non-participation or limited participation …

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 …

Voices From Two Sides Of The Atlantic: A Multiple Case Study Of Women's Leadership, Eva Anneli Adams

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

People learn and adopt cultural values through socialization. "Voices from Two Sides of the Atlantic" is a multiple-case study about the influence of national socialization on women's leadership experiences. The main research question of the study was: Does national enculturation impact how women lead, and if so, how is it reflected in participants' responses?;This study examined leadership experiences of three Finnish and three American women. It investigated how the participants associate their values with their leadership experience and how they perceive the social context in which they grew up influences leadership. The theoretical framework of the study was based on …

Managing The Relationship Between Intermediaries And Meta Sites, Natasa Christodoulidou

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Travel meta search engines have great potential to alter the travel landscape. Although their current booking impact is relatively low, these new entrants are well-funded, growing quickly, and gaining consumer visibility (Christodoulidou, Connolly, and Brewer, 2006). This research (a) explored whether travel meta sites are an opportunity or a threat to travel intermediaries, (b) examined the transactional relationship between travel meta sites, travel intermediaries, and their suppliers, and (c) compared the consumer's perceptions regarding travel meta sites and travel intermediaries; To examine the role of meta sites in the travel industry and the transactional relationships an information rich-case study approach …

Violent Women In Film And The Sociological Relevance Of The Contemporary Action Heroine, Kathryn A Gilpatric

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This research examines mainstream representations and imagery of violent women in American cinema in a broad sense, and looks more specifically at the sociological relevance of the contemporary filmic action heroine. This research is not interpretive in nature but instead draws upon original data gained from an extensive content analysis spanning a 15-year period from 1991 to 2005. In addition, the research includes secondary source data gathered from movie industry statistics and industry reports in order to provide an empirically descriptive analysis of violent female action characters in contemporary American film; While many feminist film theorists argue that female action …

Vestiges Of Desegregation: Black Superintendent Reflections On The Complex Legacy Of Brown V Board Of Education, Sonya Douglass Horsford

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Research reflecting the diverse thoughts, experiences, and perspectives of the Black school superintendent is scarce despite the noteworthy role Black leaders and educators have demonstrated within and beyond the Black community. Although there is extensive literature on the impacts of segregation, desegregation, and resegregation on Black student achievement and the promise and failures of school choice reform, my review of related literature revealed an absence of voices belonging to those individuals who possess the personal and professional experiences that may inform these very complex issues---Black school superintendents; This qualitative dissertation study documents and explores the reflections and perspectives of eight …