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When Did The Ancestors Of Polynesia Begin To Migrate To Polynesia? The Mtdna Evidence, David Lesniewski

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The timing and nature of the migration of the ancestors of the Polynesian people is debated by two competing theories. The "Express Train" and "Slow Boat" theories assert that the migration of the Proto-Polynesian people began around 6,000 years before present (BP) or around 10,000 years BP respectively. Through the use of haplogroups and specific genetic mutations a direct relationship between the Proto-Polynesians and modern Polynesians was attempted to test which of these theories was correct. The ancient skeletal remains from the island of Borneo currently housed at UNLV were used in this study as their dates fall within both …

Combating Midnight Regulation, Jack M. Beermann

Faculty Scholarship

The flurry of regulatory activity by the outgoing administration of President George W. Bush has raised, once again, the specter of midnight regulation. Whatever the reason for midnight regulation, there seems to be a general consensus that something has gone wrong when an outgoing administration takes important action while the incoming administration is essentially waiting to take over. Most late term action is subject to the obvious question of "if this action was so important, why didn't the administration take it in the last seven and three-quarters years or so?" Even though the Constitution leaves the incumbent in office for …

Neurocognitive Deficits And Functional Outcome In Bipolar Disorder, Danielle T. Bello

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Bipolar disorder affects approximately 1% of the population. It is a severe and debilitating illness, causing serious impairment of interpersonal, occupational and social functioning. The disorder is characterized by marked mood swings as well significant neurocognitive deficits. Based on work with other psychiatric and neurological disorders, neurocognitive deficits in bipolar disorder are expected to be strong predictors of functional capacity. However, few studies have evaluated the consequences of neurocognitive deficits in this disorder. Most available studies have focused on the clinical correlates of functional outcome, such as number of hospitalizations, age of disorder onset, and severity of symptoms. While useful, …

New Yarmouth, Eastern Neck, Maryland: Resistance To Town Building From The Colonial Period To The Present, Brynn Torelli

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The work presented in this thesis is an attempt to shed light on the early colonial development of Maryland's Eastern Shore and its possible relationship with current settlement patterns in the region, with particular interest in Kent County. Traditional interpretations of the lack of urban development on the Eastern Shore, both in the Colonial era and the present, have tended to focus on environmental and geographical factors. This research seeks to examine this trend toward rural living in newer and broader ways by incorporating human agency and investigating the possibility that the lack of town development during the Colonial era …

X-Ray Diffraction Study Of Dysprosium Single Crystal Samples In A Diamond Anvil Cell (Dac), Ognjen Grubor-Urosevic

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

X-ray diffraction is the basis of crystallography, the study of the structure of crystals. It uses X-rays of a wavelength on the order of the size of atoms, so it can resolve the positions of individual atoms in a crystal. Illuminating the crystal with a well-collimated X-ray beam produces X-rays diffracted in a certain direction for a specific crystal orientation. By analyzing the relative phase of the incoming and outgoing scattered X-rays, the unique arrangements of atoms can be determined and the structure of the crystal can be solved.

There is a long standing controversy regarding the crystal structures and …

Job Satisfaction Comparison Between Foreign Educated Nurses And U.S. Educated Nurses, Kari Zizzo

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The current nursing shortage has impacted the profession and resulted in desperate recruitment of immigrant nurses to work in the U.S. Low job satisfaction is a factor implicated for the high nurse turnover rates, which contributes to further shortages and recruitment. Satisfaction amongst all nurses has been assessed in past research to address these issues; however no research per se has compared job satisfaction of nurses who obtained their nursing education in the U.S. to nurses who obtained education in other countries. It was the purpose of this study to compare these groups to identify any differences in job satisfaction. …

In Situ Element Quantification In The Hydrothermal Diamond Anvil Cell Using Synchrotron X-Ray Fluorescence With Applications Toward Subduction Zone Processes, Steven Joseph Maglio

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Yttrium is used in geochemical investigations of arc volcanics and metamorphic geothermometers. The ability to use Y as a geochemical tool is predicated on an understanding of the mobility of Y during fluid-saturated conditions attending metamorphic and igneous processes. The goal of this work was to use the hydrothermal diamond anvil cell (HDAC) and synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence to quantify, in situ, the concentration of Y in aqueous fluids at 2-5 GPa and 650 - 800 °C; conditions likely at the oceanic lithosphere - mantle wedge interface in subduction zones. Previous studies have used modified diamond anvils which limits their …

Integrated Responses Of Crustaceans Inhabiting Estuaries To The Challenges Of Feeding And Digestion In Low Salinity, Daniel Luke Curtis

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Estuaries are highly productive and serve as vital habitats for numerous decapod crustacean species. However, the environmental conditions within estuaries are often highly dynamic and subject to large changes in salinity and temperature that occur on seasonal and tidal scales. Not all of the species occupying these habitats are adept in coping with changes in these environmental conditions. This dissertation describes the influence of low salinity conditions on the 1) habitat preference, 2) feeding behaviour and 3) digestive physiology of crustaceans inhabiting estuaries. I have primarily focussed on a weak osmoregulator, the Dungeness crab, Cancer magister , but have also …

Optimization Of Channel Geometry In A Proton Exchange Membrane (Pem) Fuel Cell, Jephanya Kasukurthi

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Bipolar plates are the important components of the PEM fuel cell. The flow distribution inside the bipolar plate should be uniform. Non-uniform flow distribution inside the bipolar leads to poor performance of the fuel cell and wastage of expensive catalyst. A single channel PEM fuel cell is taken and electrochemical analysis is carried out on it. The results are compared with the available published experimental data obtained by other research group, and they are found to be in good agreement. A baseline design of the bipolar plate is taken and numerical analysis is carried out. The results show that the …

Evaluation Of Extraction Chromatography Resins For Rapid Actinide Analysis, Julie Marisa Gostic

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In this work, physical and chemical parameters associated with extraction chromatography separation procedures were investigated for rapid actinide analysis. A vacuum box system was designed in-house and was characterized in terms of flow rate reproducibility, matrix effects on flow rate for sequential elution, and actinide separation efficiency using different types of resin (TEVA, DGA and TRU). Results indicated that the columnar kinetics of the resins were sufficiently rapid to run high purity samples through the unit over a wide range of flow rates for all resin types. Single matrix interferences at a metal ion ratio of 1:10 6 relative to …

Gods R Us, Alivelu Nagamani

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Around Grecian orchards. On Trojan battlefields. In Siva's realm. Inside Hanuman's heart. Of gods, demons, and others who love us, hate us, serve us, interfere with us. Of humans larger than life. When gods were not in hiding. About a space not reached via explanations. Poems in Gods R Us come from Greek/Roman and Indic myths, they retell myths, comment on myths, and refer to myths - they could not have been without myths. Distillation and attentiveness create the time needed to be one in the spirit of the poem. I range from reverential to playful.

Effects Of Plant Uptake And Micro-Topography On Chloride Transport In Arid Soils, Wenming Nie

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Chloride concentration profiles to depths of 1 m were evaluated on a young alluvial fan in Eldorado Valley, NV. It was found that chloride beneath plant canopies were 11 to 222 times higher than adjacent (1 - 2 m away) bare soil locations. Two-dimensional numerical simulations using HYDRUS 2D/3D model were used to further explore the impact of plants on chloride transport. The simulation results indicated that lateral flow driven by root uptake concentrated chloride toward root zones, leading to the accumulation of chloride under plant canopies. Results also suggest that locally micro-topography can have a substantial impact on chloride …

"The Varied Carols I Hear": The Music Of The New Deal In The West, Peter L. Gough

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Federal Music Project and subsequent WPA Music Programs served as components of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "New Deal" efforts to combat the economic devastation precipitated by the Great Depression. Operating during the years 1936 to 1943, these programs that engaged unemployed musicians mirrored similar efforts of the Federal Theatre, Art and Writers' Projects. Though the Federal Music Project proved to be the largest of the cultural programs in terms of both employment and attendance, to date it has received the least attention from scholars. This dissertation demonstrates that, given the societal landscape of 1930s America, a regional perspective is …

Estimating The Indirect Contribution Of Sports Books: Sports Wagering As A Driver Of Other In-House Revenues, Brett L.L. Abarbanel

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Using data from a repeater market hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, the relationship between sports book and slot machine revenues is examined. Daily sports book write and daily slot handle are compared over a 250 day period. Though many industry leaders theorize that sports book gamblers also wager in slot banks, the results of this research fail to demonstrate a statistically significant relationship between sports book write and slot coin-in. In addition, the model used included race book win as an independent variable. Race book win was found to be a highly insignificant indirect contributor to slot revenue volume and …

Hierarchical Routing In Manets Using Simple Clustering, Adam Carnine

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This thesis presents both a review of current MANET routing protocols and a new MANET routing algorithm. The routing protocols reviewed include representative samples from the three primary forms of routing found in MANETS: proactive routing, reactive routing and hybrid routing. Secure algorithms are given special treatment in the review. In addition several protocol enhancements are discussed.

The proposed routing protocol is designed to support networks of a medium size, containing over 200 nodes but less than 3,000 nodes. The design is intentionally simple to allow ease of implementation in comparison with other MANET protocols that provide similar functionality.

Criticality Studies Of Actinides Within Fissures, Trevor Wilcox

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The storage of nuclear waste in underground storage facilities presents numerous engineering challenges and risks. Experimental verification of engineered underground storage is impractical or prohibitively expensive, leaving scientists with few options. A 1995 report by Bowman and Venneri of the Los Alamos National Laboratory generated considerable controversy by hypothesizing that wastes composed of fissionable plutonium leached from underground storage containers could pose a nuclear criticality hazard. They proposed cases where plutonium collected in underground fractures could lead to sustained nuclear fission. In overmoderated cases, they argued that the resulting release of energy from fission could result in steam explosions, or …

Mining Wars: Corporate Expansion And Labor Violence In The Western Desert, 1876-1920, Kenneth Dale Underwood

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation analyzes the class struggle in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in Mexico and the western United States to illuminate the social transformation taking place in this trans-national region. The US and Mexico both underwent a significant metamorphosis in this era. The creation of a labor based working class and the displacement of occupational professionals from the upper class in many communities into an emerging middle class disrupted traditional social structures in both nations. This systematic social change, occurring nearly simultaneously in the US and Mexico, was complicated by the emerging system of monopoly capitalism, which led …

The Casaloma, Justin P. Burnside

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Casaloma was written to challenge held beliefs in what constitutes genre, what constitutes "selfhood," and what constitutes borders.

First, it is an examination of Rimbaud's famous line, "I is an other," which challenges the position of the "I" in relation not only to the self, but the self in relation to the world around it. This I call the poetics of the pre-positional, or prepositional relationship. This poetics is explored and tested through the voices, and the suigenerous nature of the material that constitutes the book.

Secondly, this book is meant to be an exploration of ideas that were …

Oxidation Modeling By Means Of Molecular Dynamics, Chaiyod Soontrapa

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Oxidation modeling is normally engineered to study systems at macroscopic scales, mostly in analytical forms based on diffusion theories. The associated time scale is usually in months, days, or minutes, and the length scale is in the order of microns. In this dissertation, oxidation modeling is performed at atomistic scale with the time and length scales in picoseconds and angstroms, respectively, using molecular dynamics. Molecular dynamics simulations generate trajectories of each atom or particle in a system according to the laws of physics. Studying oxidations under the atomistic point of view can offer new insights on atomic behaviors and influencing …

The Efficacy Of Fragrance Use For Enhancing The Slot Machine Gaming Experience Of Casino Patrons, Gael D. Hancock

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Once guests are inside a casino, experiential factors within the casino must be managed so that these guests are encouraged to engage in the gaming opportunities; remain in the casino to eat and shop; return to the casino; and hopefully, to recommend the casino to others. Ambient conditions have been shown to influence a person's willingness to stay in a public setting and their repatronage intentions. Air fragrance is one small, but controllable piece of the experience puzzle that includes décor, lighting, music and other ambient sounds, comfort of the seating, quality of the service, perception of cleanliness and ease …

Sponsorship Of Interscholastic Athletics: An Examination Of State High School Athletic/Activity Association Sponsors, Justin Wartella

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Sport sponsorship has evolved into a vast business enterprise, encompassing sport at all levels. In 2007 alone, spending on sport sponsorship worldwide was approximately $28 billion with an estimated amount of over $14 billion being spent in North America (IEG, 2008). Previous empirical research has been conducted to determine why companies choose to become involved in a sport sponsorship relationship. The existing literature on sport sponsorship objectives includes studies that have focused primarily on professional sport, intercollegiate athletics and international sport and sporting events. Despite the previous research conducted in the area of sport sponsorship, there has been a theoretical …

Fracture Toughness, Crack-Growth-Rate And Creep Studies Of Alloy 276, Joydepp Pal

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Austenitic nickel-base Alloy 276 had been proposed to be a candidate structural material within the purview of the nuclear hydrogen initiative program. A mechanistic understanding of high temperature tensile deformation of this alloy has already been presented in an earlier investigation. The current investigation has been focused on the evaluation of crack-growth behavior, fracture toughness, stress-corrosion-cracking and creep deformation of this alloy as functions of different metallurgical and mechanical variables. The results of crack-growth study under cyclic loading indicate that this alloy exhibited greater cracking tendency with increasing temperature at a constant load ratio (R). However, the effect of temperature …

Optimization Of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Interconnect Design, Krishna C. Pulagam

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Performance of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) is dependent of a set of complex physical and chemical processes occurring simultaneously. Interconnect for SOFC is important as it provides electrical connection between anode of one individual cell to the cathode of neighboring one. It also acts as a physical barrier to protect the air electrode material from the reducing environment of the fuel on the fuel electrode side, and it equally prevents the fuel electrode material from contacting with oxidizing atmosphere of the oxidant electrode side. A three-dimensional numerical model has been developed to evaluate the SOFC including the current collector, …

Geoelectrical Response Of Surfactant Solutions In A Quartzitic Sand Analog Aquifer, Meghan Therese Magill

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In this project, the resistivity and phase shift of ten surfactant aqueous solutions in a sand matrix were measured using spectral induced polarization (SIP). In addition, specific conductivity, pH, dissolved oxygen, and dielectric constant measurements of the solutions were also evaluated. The frequency range assessed was 0.091-12000Hz. The surfactants, which are typically used in the remediation of tetrachloroethylene, were Aerosol MA 80-I, Dowfax 8390, and Steol CS-330. The surfactants were mixed into solutions of both deionized and tap water at varying concentrations and injected into a closed system of silica sand. The surfactant treatments altered resistivity, specific conductivity, and pH …

Tensile Strength And Failure Criterion Of Analog Lithophysal Rock, James A. Nott

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This project determines the tensile strength of lithophysal analog rock and presents failure criteria that can be used by geotechnical engineers to evaluate underground structures in rock. The physical and mechanical properties that are related to the failure criterion, such as porosity, compressive strength and modulus of elasticity, are also discussed. Experimental tensile tests were made using direct uniaxial and indirect Brazilian tests. Three 4-inch specimens were fabricated and tested in direct uniaxial tensile tests using Hydro-Stone TB. The results showed that the elastic tensile modulus of elasticity was within two percent of existing data for the compressive modulus of …

So Tell Me, What's Different But The Skin I'M In? Seven Adolescent Black Girls Making Sense Of Their Experiences In An Online School Book Club Featuring African American Young Adult Literature, Benita Rutonya Dillard

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Believing the claim made by Black feminist research and scholarship that Black women writers and Black female social networks were safe spaces for Black females to come to voice, this qualitative multiple case study examined how seven adolescent Black females enrolled in a public virtual charter high school positioned themselves as they responded to contemporary realistic young adult fiction written by African American female authors in an online single-gendered book club. This study captured participants as some interacted in Tuesday's group and the others in the Thursday's group. Interpretivist methods are used to specifically examine the ways in which the …

Analysis Of Flaked Stone Lithics From Virgin Anasazi Sites Near Mt. Trumbull, Arizona Strip, Cheryl Marie Martin

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This thesis examines flaked stone tools that were used by the Virgin Anasazi and the debitage resulting from their manufacture at six sites in the Mt. Trumbull region in order to infer past human behavior. The behaviors being examined include activities carried out at sites, the processing and use of raw stone materials, and patterns of regional exchange. I have applied obsidian sourcing technology and an analysis of flaked stone attributes. The research indicates a range of activities occurred at habitation sites at Mt. Trumbull, and toolmakers did not need to expend large amounts of time and energy on acquiring …

Exploring The Effects Of Online Instruction On Reading Comprehension Achievement Of Students With Learning Disabilities, Nancy Shuman Fitzgerald

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Two major pieces of legislation, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (2004) and No Child Left Behind (NCLB) (2001) mandate that students with disabilities be placed in the Least Restrictive Environment and have access to the general education curriculum. To provide access to the general education curriculum, inclusion in general education classes for students with disabilities has become the accepted practice. Many students with specific learning disabilities experience difficulties with the general education curriculum because their reading ability falls significantly below the school curriculum and textbook instructional levels (Deshler & Schumaker, 1993). The Word Identification Strategy (Lenz, Schumaker, Deshler, & …

Analysis And Design Of Low Power Cmos Ultra Wideband Receiver, Abdul Bhuiyan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This research concentrates on the design and analysis of low power ultra wideband receivers for Multiband Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing systems. Low power design entails different performance tradeoffs, which are analyzed. Relationship among power consumption, achievable noise figure and linearity performance including distortion products (cross-modulation, inter-modulation and harmonic distortion) are derived. From these relationships, circuit design proceeds with allocation of gain among different sub circuit blocks for power optimum system.

A power optimum RF receiver front-end for MB-OFDM based UWB systems is designed that covers all the MB-OFDM spectrum between 3.1 GHZ to 9.6 GHZ. The receiver consists of a …

Diversity Leader: Case Study Of A Selected Organization's Transformation, Aileen Guerrero Zaballero

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Diversity initiatives have evolved from a focus on compliance-oriented training to a systematic approach which integrates the many dimensions of diversity in all aspects of business to enhance performance through the practice of organization development (OD) (Bendick, Egan, & Lofhjelm, 2001). Many organizations have implemented short term solutions to address the demographic changes in the workforce, but have had minimal results. When diversity interventions are conceptually grounded in organization development practices the results are much more substantial for both the employees and the organization (2001). The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the perceived influential factors of …