Digital Commons Network^™

Hybrid Plasmonic Nanoantennas: Fabrication, Characterization, And Application, Shengjie Zhai

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

As optical counterpart of microwave antennas, plasmonic nanoantennas are important nanoscale devices for converting propagating optical radiation into confined/enhanced electromagnetic fields. Presently, nanoantennas, with a typical size of 200-500 nm, have found their applications in bio-sensing, bio-imaging, energy harvesting, and disease cure and prevention. With the device feature size of next generation IC goes down to 22 nm or smaller, and biological/chemical sensing reaches the Gene’s level, the sizes of the corresponding nanoantennas have to be scaled down to sub-100nm level. In the literature, these sub-100nm nanoantennas are referred as deep subwavelength nanoantennas as size of such miniaturized nanoantennas is …

A Descriptive Analysis Of The Effectiveness Of Faculty Inservice In Latter-Day Saint (Lds) Seminaries, Mark A. Mathews

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of professional development in the Seminaries and Institutes of Religion (S&I) of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) through a descriptive analysis of the processes and outcomes of faculty inservice. To accomplish this purpose, 140 randomly selected LDS seminary teachers completed a survey measuring the processes and outcomes of faculty inservice training. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the frequency and variation that teachers reported five features of effective professional development (content focus, active learning, coherence, duration, and collective participation) as being part of seminary faculty inservice …

Biodiesel Production From Mixed Culture Algae Via A Wet Lipid Extraction Procedure, Ashik Sathish

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Development of renewable sources of energy has received significant interest due to the rising costs of energy and the environmental impact of using fossil fuels. Biodiesel production from renewable sources of oil has shown promise of helping to replace or reduce dependence on petroleum based diesel thereby reducing demand for crude oil. Microalgae have been considered as a strong candidate for the production of large quantities of renewable oil for biodiesel production.

Microalgae are single cell photosynthetic organisms that posses the capability to produce renewable oil at rates much faster than land based plants and crops. In addition, microalgae can …

Perspective And Practices To Address Rough-And-Tumble Play In The School Setting: A Survey Of School-Wide Positive Behavior Support Teams In Utah, Jason C. Basinger

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Prior research of rough-and-tumble play (RTP) has shown mixed results—different definitions, varying functions, and positive and negative outcomes. Few researchers have studied interventions to address RTP in school settings. With unclear evidence of RTP outcomes and the extent school interventions are addressing RTP in school settings, this study explored the extent and effectiveness of intervention programs being implemented to prevent/reduce negative outcomes of RTP in elementary schools.

A survey was created and conducted with 30 school problem-solving teams in a western state to obtain information concerning RTP in elementary school settings. Teams provided estimated percentages of RTP leading to beneficial …

Impact Of The 2003 Illinois Gaming Tax Rate Increase On Marketing Spending And Cross-State Substitution, Mikael Bengt Ahlgren

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this research was to investigate three potential consequences related to the 2003 Illinois Gaming Tax rate restructuring. The first section presents the assessment of whether a higher tax rate motivated an Illinois casino operator to reduce of marketing/promotional expenditures in an attempt to negatively influence revenues. The second establishes if the surrounding state gaming operators reacted to the increased Gaming Tax rate in Illinois, by raising their marketing spending. The last section clarifies whether the changes to the Illinois Gaming Tax Schedule impacted gaming volumes in the neighboring/competing states of Indiana, Iowa, and Missouri.

The analysis relied …

Where In The World Are The Women Of Time? Women And The "Person Of The Year" Covers For Time Magazine, Krystle Lynne Anttonelli

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Through a content analysis of Time magazine's "Person of the Year" issue, formerly titled "Man of the Year," this thesis examines how the news magazine has reevaluated and revised the once gender suggestive title to a more inclusive title in correlation to the portrayal of women featured on the covers from both past and present. This thesis also provides background on the feminist theory in order to put into perspective the professional and intellectual growth of women throughout the decades. The supporting literature contextualizes the findings with reference to other mainstream magazines and the portrayal of women versus men featured …

Shock Attenuation In Landing, Bryon Christopher Applequist

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Shock attenuation (SA) has been well studied in activities such as walking and running (Chu, et al. 2004; Derrick, et al. 2004; Mercer, et al. 2003); however, there is a lack of research regarding SA during landing. Furthermore, there is lack of information regarding which structures attenuate shock. The purpose of this study was to examine SA among the leg-hip, hip-head, and leg-head segments during landing. Each subject (n=10, Age 26.3 ± 2.71 years, Height 1.68 ± 0.08 m, Mass 70.49 ± 16.03 kg) was instrumented with accelerometers at the leg, hip and forehead. Subjects then performed landings from three …

Plasma Test On Industrial Diamond Powder In Hydrogen And Air For Fracture Strength Study, Rohit Asuri Sudharshana Asuri Sudharshana Chary

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Diamonds are the most precious material all over the world. Ever since their discovery, the desire for natural diamonds has been great; recently, the demand has steeply increased, leading to scarcity. For example, in 2010, diamonds worth $50 billion were marketed. This increased demand has led to discovering alternative sources to replace diamonds. The diamond, being the hardest material on earth, could be replaced with no other material except another diamond. Thus, the industrial or synthetic diamond was invented. Because of extreme hardness is one of diamond's properties, diamonds are used in cutting operations. The fracture strength of diamond is …

Self-Image Congruence With Communication Channels And Its Impact On Reward Program Loyalty, Orie Berezan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Loyalty programs have become products in and of themselves. They need to maintain member loyalty in order to survive. It is proposed that communication has a larger impact on program loyalty than previously thought. This study utilizes structural equation modeling (SEM) to evaluate the influence of communication typologies and dimensions on hotel reward program loyalty via self-image congruence, service quality, satisfaction, and trust. Moreover, this dissertation presents a communication identity model, which focuses on promoting hotel reward program loyalty via self-congruence with communication channels.

Newly discovered significant paths were found between: communication style and self-congruence with communication channels; self-congruence with …

Identity And Intersectionality For Big City Mayors: A Phenomenological Analysis Of Black Women, Constance J. Brooks

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The role of a mayor is integral within local governance. Their leadership and influence directly effectuates outcomes for the cities over which they preside. For big city mayors, their impact extends beyond local government and into the national policy arena. The way an individual demonstrates the role of mayor can be influenced by his/her perception of their own identity. However, within the realm of academic research dedicated to mayoral leadership and African Americans in politics, Black female mayors have largely been ignored. In particular, there are no known attempts at investigating the intersection of race and gender in understanding Black …

Taiwanese Willingness To Communicate In English: Can Watching American Television Programs Help?, Yu-Ting Chien

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study explored the relationship between Taiwanese audiences' use of American television programs and their willingness to communicate in English. Taiwanese participants filled out an online survey consisted of questions from uses and gratifications constructs and willingness to communicate constructs. In addition, different subtitle settings were also examined.

Results indicated that participants with high integrative motivation consuming information from American television programs, in addition, the setting of subtitles were associated with perceived communication competence, integrative motivation, language anxiety and social interaction motivation.

Restoration Of Biological Soil Crust On Disturbed Gypsiferous Soils In Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Eastern Mojave Desert, Lindsay P. Chiquoine

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Biological soil crusts (BSCs) are sensitive to anthropogenic disturbances. Natural recovery takes many years. Active restoration decreases recovery time. Native BSC inocula, which included lichens and mosses, salvaged from gypsiferous soil habitats in Lake Mead National Recreation Area (LMNRA) in the eastern Mojave Desert were stored dry for two years and applied to disturbed soil after a road reconstruction in LMNRA and also used in laboratory experiments to test inoculation technique effectiveness. After 18 months, field results revealed positive relationships between inoculation and the presence of macroscopic BSC cover, cyanobacteria abundance, soil stability, and ammonium concentrations. Chlorophyll fluorescence monitoring of …

A Gauge Theoretic Treatment Of Rovibrational Motion In Diatoms, Gregory Colarch

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Born-Oppenheimer approximation has long been the standard approach to solving the Schrödinger equation for diatomic molecules. In it, nuclear and electronic motions are separated into "slow" and "fast" degrees of freedom and couplings between the two are ignored. The neglect of non-adiabatic couplings leads to an incomplete description of diatomic motion, and in a more refined approach, non-adiabatic couplings are uncoupled by transforming the angular momentum of the molecule and electrons into the body-fixed frame.

In this thesis we examine a "modern" form of the Born-Oppenheimer approximation by exploiting a gauge theoretic approach in a description of molecular motion. …

Ore And Gangue Mineral Paragenesis Of The Cortez Hills Carlin-Type Gold Deposit, Nevada: Evidence For Coincident High-Grade Gold Deposition And Collapse Brecciation, Lindsey R. Clark

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Cortez Hills Carlin-type gold deposit (CTGD), located on the Battle Mountain-Eureka trend of Northern NV, is hosted in a conical shaped polylithic breccia whose central axis strikes parallel to the imbricate Voodoo fault system. Gold grades at the center of the Cortez Hills Breccia Zone (CHBZ) are locally in excess of an ounce per ton. Gold mineralization within the refractory ore at Cortez Hills shares many characteristics with other well studied CTGDs. However, new observations during this study have recognized 1) fragmented realgar that are rimmed by gold-bearing iron-sulfide minerals in four samples, 2) a Hg- and Tl-rich late-ore …

"Carefull" Ethos: The Construction Of Ethos In Dorothy Leigh's The Mothers Blessing, Julia D. Combs

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

As one of the most popular conduct manuals in the early seventeenth century, Dorothy Leigh's The Mothers Blessing is often categorized as private, domestic literature. In this dissertation, I examine the strategies Leigh employed to create ethos, and I argue that her strategic depiction of herself as a "fearefull, faithfull, carefull" mother helped her authorize herself as a public figure. Specifically, I investigate the strategies Leigh employed to create a persuasive ethos within the genre of the conduct manual. Through mother-based ethos strategies, Leigh presented herself deliberately, augmenting her authority as Mother and positioning her work within a male-dominated print …

Mega-Renters: Who Are They And How Do They Operate?, Stefan William Cosentino

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation investigates individuals who have acquired an extraordinary number of vacation ownership (timeshare) points or weeks and utilize their ownership for the purposes of generating income by renting their room reservations to the third parties. Individuals who operate in this context have been referred to as mega-renters on blogs such as the Timeshare Users Group website (Tug2.net), commonly referred to as Tug, which is an online forum where owners of timeshare share information about their ownership.

The timeshare or vacation ownership product is a leisure product that provides consumers luxury accommodations and or vacation experiences. Academic opinion based on …

A Phenomenological Study On The Leadership Development Of African American Women Executives In Academia And Business, Deanna Rachelle Davis

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the intersectionality of race and gender for African American women through their lived experiences of how they developed into leaders. This research study was designed to determine how the intersection of race and gender identities contributed to the elements of leadership development as perceived by eight African American female executives in academia and business. The researcher sought to explore strategies future leaders might utilize to address leadership development and career ascendency for African American females who aspire to leadership roles. A phenomenological research method was most appropriate for this research …

Evaluation Of The Tagelus® Ta 100d Sand Filter For Removing Quagga Mussel Veligers (Dreissena Rostriformis Bugensis) From Lake Water And The Effectiveness Of The Safeguard Ultraviolet Radiation System As A Biocide Against Veligers, Patricia Kathleen Delrose

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Lake Mead National Recreational Area was created by the construction of the Hoover Dam during the years 1931-1936. In January 2007, the quagga mussel (Dreissena rostriformis bugensis), was found in Lake Mead. This became the first known Dreissenid species in the southwest and the only time a large water system was first infested by the quagga mussel and not the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha). This invasive species has quickly spread to Lake Mohave and further down the lower Colorado River drainage. The microscopic size (70 µm or larger) of the veliger life stage makes it impossible to see with …

The Meaning Of The Lived Experience Of Nursing Faculty On A Dedicated Education Unit, Deborah Ann Demeester

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In 2011, 58,327 qualified applicants were denied admission to U.S. baccalaureate programs due to an inadequate number of qualified faculty, insufficient clinical placement sites, and resource constraints. Nursing faculty leaders are being challenged to increase enrollment to address a projected worsening nursing shortage and to transform prelicensure nursing education to ensure that program graduates have the nursing skills and competencies to meet the health care needs of the population.

Collaborative educational partnerships offer promising strategies to diminish the nursing faculty shortage, educate more students, and provide stable, rich learning environments. The Dedicated Education Unit (DEU) model is one of these …

Closing Up Shop: Meditations On The Departmental/Programmatic Elimination Experience, Susan Beth Donoff

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Departmental and programmatic eliminations represent a new paradigm in the history of American higher education. Hastened by a national economic recession and competing state funding priorities, public post-secondary institutions have turned to academic attrition as a solution to continuous budgetary shortfalls. As a means of addressing the lived experience of faculty members and department chairs, the following qualitative case study explores perceptions of implementing departmental and/or programmatic eliminations.

Utilizing uncertainty reduction theory as a conceptual framework, interviewed faculty in saved units experienced considerable strategic uncertainty, failing to understand why they had been selected for elimination. Guided by a college-wide strategic …

Elemental Contributions From Minor And Major Constituents Of Bone On The Separation Of Radiostrontium, Ashlee Rae Dailey

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

While many methods exist to separate and analyze radionuclides from a variety of environmental matrices, the performance of all of these methods is often limited by other interfering constituents that are consistently found in most of these samples. The presence of such constituents can significantly reduce the recovery of the radioisotopes of interests and lead to incomplete separations.

Strontium has the same oxidation state and a similar atomic radius as calcium and is therefore readily able to substitute for calcium in lattice sites. This similarity in behavior leads to the preferential accumulation of strontium in newly formed bone. The study …

Morphological Features Of The Proximal Femur: Investigations Of Habitual Activities, Sex And Health In A Bronze Age Population From The Arabian Peninsula, Animikha Dutt

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Bronze Age sites on the Arabian Peninsula are relatively rare. The undisturbed nature of Tell Abraq, located in the United Arab Emirates, is significant since it represents one of the longest known occupied settlement sites dating from the 3rd millennium BC to the 1st century AD. This site has revealed an undisturbed communal tomb that was used for approximately 200 years (2200-2000 BC), housing commingled and disarticulated human remains of at least 286 adults and 127 subadults. The strategic coastal position of Tell Abraq, at the intersection of several major cultural centers, allowed its people to actively participate in world …

Hardware-Software Co-Design, Acceleration And Prototyping Of Control Algorithms On Reconfigurable Platforms, Desta Kumsa Edosa

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Differential equations play a significant role in many disciplines of science and engineering. Solving and implementing Ordinary Differential Equations (ODEs) and partial Differential Equations (PDEs) effectively are very essential as most complex dynamic systems are modeled based on these equations. High Performance Computing (HPC) methodologies are required to compute and implement complex and data intensive applications modeled by differential equations at higher speed. There are, however, some challenges and limitations in implementing dynamic system, modeled by non-linear ordinary differential equations, on digital hardware. Modeling an integrator involves data approximation which results in accuracy error if data values are not considered …

The Retention And Success Of Alternatively Admitted Student Athletes: A Case Study Of The Unlv Athletic Department, Adrienne Ekas-Mueting

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The aim of this exploratory study is to determine why student athletes admitted under University of Nevada, Las Vegas's (UNLV) alterative-admissions policy are successful, specifically by looking at the UNLV Athletic Department's institutional practices. Alternatively admitted athletes are the recipients of these practices. Although there is some research on the predictors of success for college-student athletes, the literature on alternatively admitted student-athlete success is negligible. This appears to be a specialty subgroup of students, and the institutional practices that contribute to their success should be identified and explored.

The purpose of this study was to qualitatively investigate and analyze whether …

Petrogenesis Of The East Fork Member Rhyolites, Valles Caldera, New Mexico, Usa, Carla Eichler

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The most recent volcanism in the Valles caldera is represented by the El Cajete Pyroclastic Beds (ECPB), Battleship Rock Ignimbrite (BRI), and Banco Bonito Flow (BBF) as well as the VC-1 rhyolite, which are collectively known as the East Fork Member (EFM) of the Valles Rhyolite. The EFM was erupted at approximately 55 ka and 40 ka after an approximate 460 ka lull in volcanism. Previous studies suggested a mafic intrusion at depth triggered the eruptions. This thesis represents the first detailed study of the EFM.

Crystal assemblages consist of plagioclase, biotite, clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene, amphibole, sanidine, quartz, and oxides. Electron …

Volcanic Evolution Of The Southern Quinn Canyon Range: Implications For Regional Correlation Of Volcanic Units, Christina Emery

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The southern Quinn Canyon Range lies in an area of the Great Basin subjected to large-volume Oligocene-Miocene silicic volcanism and smaller volume basaltic volcanism during the Pliocene. Three major ash-flow tuff units were correlated in the southern Quinn Canyon Range (the Pahranagat Tuff, Clifford Spring Tuff, and the Cow Canyon Tuff) with regional units by utilizing U/Pb and 40 Ar/ 39Ar geochronology, geochemical correlation, and field mapping. Isotopic analysis suggests that basalt in the southern Quinn Canyon Range is part of the Death Valley-Pancake Range Basalt Zone and is similar to Reveille Range Episode 1 and 2 basalts. Further comparison …

Factors Contributing To The Educational Success Of Single-Mother Welfare Recipients At An Urban Southwestern Community College: Case Studies Of Six Success Stories, Rhonda Rose Faul

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study gave voice to the issues, needs, and concerns of economically disadvantaged single mothers and determined the motivational and institutional factors that helped lead them to their successful completion of a community college degree or certificate program while at the same time coping with the challenges of financially surviving on meager public welfare assistance, raising their children, and meeting welfare-mandated work activity requirements. While American society has a long tradition of regarding higher education as a means of achieving long-term financial security and self-sufficiency, current welfare policy unfortunately adds additional obstacles for welfare recipients who may be motivated to …

Superintendent Leadership During Economic Austerity: A Multiple Case Study, Douglas Paul Finch

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In contrast with recent decades of economic growth and stability, today's education funding landscape appears to be entrenched in a pattern of diminishing financial resources that may persist for a number of years. This is occurring also amid unprecedented efforts by lawmakers and public officials to intervene in school reform work. School leaders, specifically superintendents of the public school districts, are expected to make difficult leadership decisions in cutting back and downsizing the district organization while still maintaining an innovative and positive environment in schools. The effective leader must be well informed of best practices in positively influencing critical determinants …

A Historical Case Study Of School Desegregation And Resegregation In Las Vegas, Nevada, 1968-2008, Felicia Forletta

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to document and examine the perspectives of members of a historically African American community located in Las Vegas, Nevada (historic West Las Vegas) concerning equal education and school desegregation and resegregation in the Clark County School District from 1968 to 2008. Using historical case study methods, this study sought to provide a historical description and analysis of the social, political, and cultural contexts that shaped decades of school desegregation and resegregation in this historically African American community. Data sources included: legal cases and court documents; archived news, newsletters, newspaper and magazine articles; (3) Clark …

Comparison And Simulation Of Salt-Ceramic Composites For Use In High Temperature Concentrated Solar Power, Lauren Michelle Fossile

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Due to the inherently intermittent nature of solar energy caused by cloud cover among other sources, thermal storage systems are needed to make solar energy more consistent. This same technology could be used to prolong the daily number of useful hours of solar energy power plants. Salt-ceramic materials are a relatively new prospect for heat storage, but have been researched mostly with magnesium oxide and several different carbonate salts. Salt ceramics are a phase change material where the salt changes phase inside the ceramic structure allowing for the system to use the sensible heat of both materials and the latent …