Digital Commons Network^™

Effects Of Practice On Instrumental Learning And Hippocampal Nt-3 Expression In Long-Living Ames Dwarf And Wild-Type Mice, Grant Thomas Corbett

Undergraduate Theses and Senior Projects

No abstract provided.

Unreasonable Search And Seizure : The Fourth Amendment And Sections 215 And 505 Of The Usa Patriot Act, Christine L. Carlson

Undergraduate Theses and Senior Projects

No abstract provided.

Refugee Resettlement : A Community Resource Project, Sierra M. Kraft

Undergraduate Theses and Senior Projects

No abstract provided.

Perceptions Of Stalking : Level Of Threat And Victim Response Type, John-Gabriel Licht

Undergraduate Theses and Senior Projects

No abstract provided.

On Patents Of Human Biological Materials, Allyson M. Schmitt

Undergraduate Theses and Senior Projects

No abstract provided.

Metal Oxide Semiconductors For Solar Energy Harvesting, Elijah Thimsen

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

The correlation between energy consumption and human development illustrates the importance of this societal resource. We will consume more energy in the future. In light of issues with the status quo, such as climate change, long-term supply and security, solar energy is an attractive source. It is plentiful, virtually inexhaustible, and can provide more than enough energy to power society. However, the issue with producing electricity and fuels from solar energy is that it is expensive, primarily from the materials: silicon) used in building the cells. Metal oxide semiconductors are an attractive class of materials that are extremely low cost …

Ensemble Support Vector Machine Models Of Radiation-Induced Lung Injury Risk, Todd Schiller

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Patients undergoing radiation therapy can develop a potentially fatal inflammation of the lungs known as radiation pneumonitis: RP). In practice, modeling RP factors is difficult because existing data are under-sampled and imbalanced. Support vector machines: SVMs), a class of statistical learning methods that implicitly maps data into a higher dimensional space, is one machine learning method that recently has been applied to the RP problem with encouraging results. In this thesis, we present and evaluate an ensemble SVM method of modeling radiation pneumonitis. The method internalizes kernel/model parameter selection into model building and enables feature scaling via Olivier Chapelle's method. …

Adaptive Middleware For Resource-Constrained Mobile Ad Hoc And Wireless Sensor Networks, Chien-Liang Fok

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Mobile ad hoc networks: MANETs) and wireless sensor networks: WSNs) are two recently-developed technologies that uniquely function without fixed infrastructure support, and sense at scales, resolutions, and durations previously not possible. While both offer great potential in many applications, developing software for these types of networks is extremely difficult, preventing their wide-spread use. Three primary challenges are: 1) the high level of dynamics within the network in terms of changing wireless links and node hardware configurations,: 2) the wide variety of hardware present in these networks, and: 3) the extremely limited computational and energy resources available. Until now, the burden …

A Thesis Towards Development Of An Occupational Therapy Game System For Stroke Patients, Emily Yang

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Persons who have suffered from stroke participate in occupational therapy to help recover occupational functionality, but therapy is expensive and maximal recovery often depends on repetitive, tedious exercises to be done by patients both in therapy sessions and on their own. Often patients do not have the resources or motivation to complete the treatment required to give them the best results. This thesis is presented as part of a larger project in which we aim to enable occupational therapists to use the Looking Glass programming environment to create computer games for their patients that can be played inexpensively and effectively, …

A Submaximal Test To Assess Back Muscle Capacity: Evaluation Of Construct Validity, Christian Larivière, Denis Gravel, Phillip Gardiner, A. Bertrand Arsenault, Denis Gagnon, Patrick Loisel

Études primaires

No abstract provided.

Teaching Sicko, Elizabeth Weeks

Scholarly Works

This article provides insights in how to make up cancelled law classes to ensure compliance with American Bar Association accreditation instructional hours requirements. How to cover the missed course content. How to find mutually agreeable make-up class times and locations with a group of busy, upper-level law students. Faced with the prospect of having to make up two hours each of my Health Care Financing and Regulation course and my Public Health Law seminar, I turned to the teacher's little helper: the DVD player

Functions And Correlates Of Deliberate Self-Harm Among Adjudicated Male Adolescents, Jenna Silverman

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Deliberate self-harm (DSH) is self-inflicted physical injury without suicidal intent. Recent studies indicated that more adolescent males engage in DSH than previously identified. Research demonstrated that DSH is common in forensic settings and highly correlated with several mental health disorders. This study included 103 adjudicated male adolescents assessed for DSH and mental health concerns. Twenty-two participants with DSH history and 21 controls were interviewed about coping skills, mental health problems, and DSH functions. Results indicated that 66%, especially African American and Hispanic participants, reported DSH history. Participants with DSH history reported more aggression, emotional lability, alienation/boredom, and internalizing disorders but …

Recent High School Graduates Knowledge About Physical Activity Guidelines And Disease Related To Sedentary Lifestyle, Soojin Yoo

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study examined recent high school graduates' knowledge about physical activity (PA) guidelines and disease related to sedentary lifestyle. Using a cross-sectional descriptive design, focus was on assessing knowledge performance and relating it to gender, ethnicity, PA behavior, and conceptualizations about high school health education (HE) and physical education (PE). Study participants were 394 recent high school graduates between the ages of 18-20 years of age. Participants completed a questionnaire designed to measure knowledge about PA guidelines and disease associated with sedentary lifestyle. In addition, the questionnaire also comprised items designed to capture demographical information and provide some information about …

Diversity Issues In Recruitment And Retention Of Clients For Parenting Classes, Rachel Elizabeth Davis

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Parenting skills classes are an effective means of preventing and remediating juvenile delinquency, youth violence, and child maltreatment. In particular, juvenile delinquency and child maltreatment disproportionately affect low-income African American families. Unfortunately, data from most parenting classes suggest dismal attendance and participation rates for racial- and ethnic-minorities from low-income backgrounds. The lack of effective recruitment may be due, in part, to the level of cultural competency inherent in the design, content, and implementation of existing parenting classes. Using semi-structured interviews and the qualitative methodology of grounded theory, this study explored the self-reported parenting beliefs, values, and struggles of a sample …

A Multiple Case Study Of College First-Year Seminars, Karen Ruth Mills Reid

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

John N. Gardner in 1972 advocated a new concept called the first-year seminar to increase academic performance and retention for freshmen students. The term "first-year seminar" defined a fairly diverse instructional construct, but the goal was clear and focused. It was to improve student retention rates. Research trends indicated a positive and almost always statistically significant relationship between first-year seminar participation and college achievement and higher persistence rates. Existing studies reflected a variety of significant methodological issues. Also; few cross-institutional research studies were reported and far fewer considered the content of the construct called a first-year seminar. The purpose of …

Bending Of Woody Riparian Vegetation As A Function Of Hydraulic Flow Conditions, John O. Goreham

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Vegetation encroachment reduces channel conveyance capacity below design objectives and greatly increases the risk for loss of life and property damage in the case of large flood events. Given minimal knowledge of hydraulic roughness for shrubs and woody vegetation, accurate estimation of channel capacity and water surface elevation is difficult. The ability to predict a tree's bent, reduced height in the presence of flow permits more accurate prediction of hydraulic roughness and water surface elevation.

In this study, field tests were performed to elucidate tree bending properties, which in turn served as input parameters for a numerical algorithm designed to …

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder And Other Consequences Of A Picu Admission, Stephanie Ann Stowman

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Currently, there is a paucity of literature regarding children's experiences in a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) relative to caregivers' experiences. Children admitted to a PICU and their caregivers are at risk for various psychopathology. Disorders commonly identified in seriously ill children include depression, anxiety, acute stress disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Caregivers of seriously ill children are at increased risk of depression, generalized anxiety disorder, acute stress disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Researchers often fail to examine all relevant psychopathology and contributing factors and stressors, such as family environment, in seriously ill children and their caregivers. This study assessed …

Spectral Analysis Of Pathological Acoustic Speech Waveforms, Priyanka Medida

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Biomedical engineering is the application of engineering principles and techniques to the medical field. The design and problem solving skills of engineering are combined with medical and biological science, which improves medical disorder diagnosis and treatment. The purpose of this study is to develop an automated procedure for detecting excessive jitter in speech signals, which is useful for differentiating normal from pathologic speech. The fundamental motivation for this research is that tools are needed by speech pathologists and laryngologists for use in the early detection and treatment of laryngeal disorders. Acoustical analysis of speech was performed to analyze various features …

Brothers Are Better Than Sisters: A Semiotic, Feminist Analysis Of Hbo's "Rome", Patricia Mamie Peers

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In 2005, the Home Box Office and British Broadcasting Corporation partnered to produce Rome , a television series that retells the Roman histories of Julius Caesar, Marc Antony and Augustus through the lives of two centurion soldiers, Titus Pullo and Lucious Vorenus. The show's producers endeavored to bring Roman streets to life and included more storylines of women, men and children of all classes. At first considered a more egalitarian approach to history, Rome 's women are said to "challenge expectations" (Vu, 2005) and "forge a new path" (Ragalie, 2007, p. 2). But does this new representation challenge the old …

Soil Moisture And Water Stage Estimation Using Precipitation Radar, Sumit Puri

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In south-western United States, soil moisture data is important for drought studies in the region which is experiencing a drought for many years, whereas in South Florida, water stage data is required by hydrologists to monitor the hydrological flow in wetlands. Soil moisture data and water stage data are not sufficiently available due to sparse monitoring stations. Installation of dense measuring stations over an extended area is costly and labor intensive. Therefore, there is a need to develop an alternative method of measuring soil moisture and water stage. Microwave remote sensing has proven to be a useful tool in the …

Disease In The Desert: Las Vegas As A Case Study Of How First Responders And Emergency Managers Understand Novel Threats To Human Health And Plan To Respond During Biological Emergencies, Monique Williamson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Over recent years it has become clear that technological advancements, globalization, and ecological change, combined with the onset of increased terrorist incidents, are all currently working to create an extremely hazardous environment in terms of pathogenic invasion. Realizing that infectious diseases are both newly emerging and re-emerging in many parts of the world, the question of how prepared an expansive United States will be in the face of an oncoming global pandemic is easily raised. Using Las Vegas as an example of just how unequipped a largely visited U.S. city may be in the face of such a situation, this …

Adult Esl Student Perceptions On Computer Assisted Language Learning, Jillian Burrus

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this research study was to explore my adult English as a second language (ESL) student's experiences with technology as a method of improving English acquisition. The area of computer assisted language learning (CALL) is increasingly becoming important within the second language learning arena. As the expansion of available technology continues to increase, insight into opinions about the effectiveness of CALL and specifically those opinions of the actual users will be needed.

As an instructor of adult ESL students, my study focused on providing information about my student's use of technology for future personal classroom praxis. This research …

Design And Characterization Of A Shock And Vibration Mitigation Seat System, George Samaan Ladkany

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Extensive research has been conducted into the development of pneumatic seatbladder systems for shock and vibration mitigation for use in current U.S military vehicle envelopes. This research expands on the previous work through an elaborate experimental characterization of four prototype air bladder seat cushion systems. The experimental characterization conducted included shock testing, continuous vibration, and internal dynamic pressure measured during the shock event.

The shock testing was conducted both at the Army Research Lab as well at UNLV. The shock testing conducted at UNLV was performed on a drop tower designed and constructed during the time of this research. The …

Desert Varnish As An Indicator Of Modern-Day Air Pollution In Southern Nevada, Piotr Nowinski

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Rock varnish, often called desert varnish, is a slow-growing, manganese-rich coating that accumulates on exposed rock surfaces. The mechanism of varnish formation is not fully understood, however, most authors agree that varnishes derive their components from the atmosphere. The main goal of this study was to demonstrate the potential use of desert varnish as a passive environmental monitor of present and past atmospheric pollution. Analysis of varnishes is a new field that can potentially provide records of pre-anthropogenic levels of atmospheric metals and other environmental pollutants. To evaluate the potential of desert varnish as an environmental monitoring tool, the following …

Death Of The Role-Play, Nadja Alexander, Michelle Lebaron

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Setting someone up to fail does indeed sound unfair. In fact it could be described as an ambush – outlaw facilitators lying in wait for unsuspecting students. Not only is this unsettling in a training environment, we can ask whether this lack of transparency runs counter to the behavior expected of negotiators and mediators. Far from being a figment of our fertile imaginations, this short vignette is drawn from a real life learning situation at which both authors were present. Participants were asked at the beginning of the postgraduate workshop about their learning preferences. While most replied enthusiastically about learning …

Promoting Parent Partnership In Head Start: A Qualitative Case Study Of Teacher Documents From A School Readiness Intervention Project., Carolyn P. Edwards, Tara Hart, Kelly Rasmussen, Y. M. Haw, Susan M. Sheridan

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

To advance the field of children’s services, implementation and generalization studies are needed to help us reveal the inner workings of intervention projects and how they do (or do not) achieve their outcomes. This paper provides a case study of Head Start teachers’ uptake of the Getting Ready school readiness intervention, intended to strengthen professionals’ capacity to support parental engagement in young children’s development and learning. The qualitative method of document review was used in scrutinizing home visit reports and classroom newsletters as a source of authentic evidence about teachers’ implementation and generalization of an early intervention model. Home visits …

Effects Of Marital Quality On Children In Brazilian Families, Stephen V. Stutzman, Richard B. Miller, Cody S. Hollist, Olga G. Falceto

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Although there is a robust literature supporting the empirical generalization that parental conflict is related to childhood problems, the research has primarily studied European American populations in the U.S. There is minimal research that investigates the relationship between marital distress and child outcomes in other cultures (Bradford et al., 2004; Buehler et al., 1997; Krishnakumar & Buehler, 2000; Shek, 2001), including a specific lack of knowledge regarding Latino populations. This is a significant gap in the literature since Latino children make up the largest minority group in the U.S., accounting for 16% of children younger than 18 years of age …

Relation Of Caregiver Alcohol Use To Unintentional Childhood Injury, Amy Damashek, Natalie A. Williams, Kenneth Sher, Lizette Petterson

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Objective The present study used a case-crossover design to investigate the association of caregiver alcohol consumption and supervision to children's injury occurrence and severity.

Method A community sample of 170 mothers of toddlers was interviewed biweekly about their children's daily injuries for a period of 6 months.

Results Proximal caregiver-reported alcohol use predicted higher likelihood of injury occurrence and higher injury severity, whereas caregiver-reported supervision predicted lower likelihood of injury occurrence and lower injury severity.

Conclusion Even at low levels, proximal caregiver alcohol use may contribute to higher risk for childhood injuries and more severe injuries. The combined effect of …

Factors Influencing Familial Decision-Making Regarding Human Papillomavirus Vaccination, Heather L. Gamble, James L. Klosky, Gilbert R. Parra, Mary E. Randolph

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Objective The purpose of this review is to summarize the research regarding Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination uptake among families with adolescent/preadolescent daughters.

Methods Literature searches (utilizing PubMed and PsychInfo databases) were conducted and research examining psychological and environmental factors which relate to HPV vaccine uptake and intentions was reviewed.

Results Factors such as physician recommendations, perceptions of the beliefs of peers and significant others, history of childhood immunizations, and communication with adolescents regarding sexual topics appear to influence HPV vaccination outcomes.

Conclusions Although primary prevention of cervical and other cancers is available for preadolescent and adolescent girls, rates of HPV …

Intellectual Property In The Twenty-First Century: Will The Developing Countries Lead Or Follow?, Jerome H. Reichman

Faculty Scholarship

This article continues the author's contributions on the subject of intellectual property protection in developing countries, and focuses on how those developing countries with growing technological prowess should accommodate their own national systems of innovation to the worldwide intellectual property regime emerging in the post-TRIPS period, with a view to maximizing global economic welfare in the foreseeable future.