Digital Commons Network^™

An Assessment Of A 13-Week Teaching Gardens Intervention On Healthy Behavior Outcomes In 4th And 5th Grade Students At Crestwood Elementary School In Las Vegas, Nevada, Miranda Corgiat

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Nearly 13 million children and adolescents are considered to be obese in the United States, with children enrolled in Clark County School District showing elevated overweight and obese weight statuses compared to national averages. Carrying an excessive amount of weight can lead children to experience a multitude of complications with their physical and mental health as well as increase their risk of developing various chronic diseases. The American Heart Association's Las Vegas Teaching Gardens program implemented a school-based garden pilot study to target environmental causes of obesity in 4th and 5th grade students at Crestwood Elementary School. The objective of …

Social Network Analysis (Sna) Of Clark County, Nevada Tuberculosis (Tb) Case And Contact Investigation Data To Determine Pediatric Risk Factors For Disease Transmission, Darin Michael Cozatt

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Within the spectrum of childhood (infancy, early childhood, middle childhood, and adolescence), TB is a priority disease, and preventive care is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)/Bright Futures initiative (AAP, 2008). Within the early childhood stage (15 months to 4 years), TB is classified as "HR2" (high risk 2), behind lead poisoning, which is "HR1" (AAP, 2008), the highest risk within this age range. Within the middle childhood stage (5 to 10 years), TB becomes an HR1. TB is preventable, and targeted screening is the best prevention method. The AAP/Bright Futures initiative further specifies the risk based on …

Investigation Of Chloride Induced Corrosion Of Bridge Pier And Life-Cycle Repair Cost Analysis Using Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composites, Dinesh Dhakal

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Bridges are the long term investment of the highway agencies. To maintain the required service level throughout the life of a bridge, a series of maintenance, repair, and rehabilitation (MR&R) works can be performed. To investigate the corrosion deterioration and maintenance and repair practices in the bridge pier columns constructed in chloride-laden environment, a questionnaire survey was conducted within the 50 state Departments of Transportation (DOTs). Based on the survey data, two corrosion deterioration phases were identified. They were corrosion crack initiation phase and corrosion propagation phase. The data showed that the mean corrosion crack initiation phase for bridge pier …

Oppositional And Anxiety Behavior Profiles In A Clinical Sample Of Youth With Selective Mutism, Rachele Diliberto

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Children with selective mutism often present as a very heterogeneous population, with both anxious (APA, 2000; 2013; Kristensen 2000; Manassis et al., 2007; Steinhausen & Juzi, 1996; Yeganeh et al., 2003) and oppositional symptoms (APA, 2013; Andersson & Thomsen, 1998; Kolvin & Fundudis, 1981; Krohn, Weckstein, & Wright, 1992). This study sought to identify anxiety and oppositional behavior profiles in a clinical sample of children with selective mutism. Also, this study sought to determine both discriminant and concurrent validity for these profiles and examine their association with family expressiveness, conflict and control. Participants (n=57) included youth receiving treatment at the …

Mitigation Of Moving Shocks In An Expanding Duct, Veraun Chipman

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Inviscid flow theory governs the bulk motion of a gas at some distance away from the walls (i.e. outside the boundary layer). That is to say, there are no viscous forces in the bulk flow, which is modeled using the Euler equations. The Euler equations are simply the Navier-Stokes equations with zero viscosity terms. An ideal inviscid fluid, when brought into contact with a surface or wall, would naturally slip right past it since the fluid has no viscosity. In real life, however, a thin boundary layer forms between the wall or surface and the bulk flow. Shock wave boundary …

Keeping In Touch: Exchange As An Adaptive Strategy In Southern Nevada, Timothy Joshua Ferguson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Archaeologists have always wondered about the extent of vessel movement in the American Southwest. Identifying vessel movement allows for the study of social interactions across a region and the role of ceramics in the adaptive processes of agriculturalists living in marginal, highly variable environments. In many instances, exchange may act as a way to reduce the risk of resource shortfalls by creating social ties in other areas. This research investigated the changing risk reduction strategies of households in the lowland Virgin region of southern Nevada by using geochemical methods to trace the exchange of locally produced pottery. It was hypothesized …

Validation Of A Personality Scale: A Factor Analytic Approach, Leslie Forbush

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Researchers and clinicians alike make use of various assessment instruments to investigate variables of interest. These instruments include affective assessments, which require individuals to make judgments about themselves. To make these judgments individuals reflect upon their attitudes, interests, values, and personality traits and choose the corresponding response option that they feel best represents their current status with regards to the variable of interest for each question. The optimal number of response options to be included in such affective measurement scales has been greatly debated over the past several decades (Cox, 1980; Foddy, 1993; Jacoby & Matell, 1971; Jones & Loe, …

Designing A Mechanical Linkage Capable Of Decreasing Force Transfer From The Facemask To The Protective Helmet When Loading Occurs, Levi Hansen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Introduction

Sports that involve extensive personal contact have a high incidence of injury. The introduction of regulations mandating the use of personal protective equipment in these sports is the most common injury control strategy (Marshall et al., 2002). Negligible attention has been paid to the mechanical linkage between the facemask and helmet as a means of reducing force transfer from the facemask, through the helmet, and to the head and or neck of the athlete.

Methods

A novel prototype mechanical linkage of reasonable simplicity that provides 360° of freedom in motion capable of decreasing force transfer from the facemask to …

Spectroscopic Investigation Of The Chemical And Electronic Properties Of Chalcogenide Materials For Thin-Film Optoelectronic Devices, Kimberly Horsley

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Chalcogen-based materials are at the forefront of technologies for sustainable energy production. This progress has come only from decades of research, and further investigation is needed to continue improvement of these materials.

For this dissertation, a number of chalcogenide systems were studied, which have applications in optoelectronic devices, such as LEDs and Photovoltaics. The systems studied include Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGSe) and CuInSe2 (CISe) thin-film absorbers, CdTe-based photovoltaic structures, and CdTe-ZnO nanocomposite materials. For each project, a sample set was prepared through collaboration with outside institutions, and a suite of spectroscopy techniques was employed to answer specific questions about the system. These …

Li+ Ion Transport In Select Lithium-Rich Antiperovskites, John William Howard

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Lithium-Rich Antiperovskites (LiRAPs) have been shown to possess relatively high ionic conductivity at room temperature, and become superionic conductors at elevated temperatures. These materials generally have a stoichiometry Li3BX, where B is a doubly deficient anion, and X is a monovalent anion. Ideally they belong to the high symmetry space group Pm-3m where lithium atoms occupy octahedral corners, B anions occupy octahedral centers, and X anions occupy the interstitial centers between the octahedra. LiRAPs were synthesized using several different methods and characterized by XRD, EIS, DSC, TGA, FTIR, and INS techniques. Chemical analyses were performed to determine the stoichiometries of …

Postural Sway And Brain Hemispheric Power Spectral Density Under Different Attentional Focus Conditions, Sharon Jalene

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to determine the differences, if any, in the root mean square error (RMSE) of postural sway and hemispheric power spectral density (PSD) in the alpha and beta bands (8-12Hz and 12-25Hz) during different conditions of attentional focus (i.e., internal focus (IF), and external focus (EF) and a control condition (C)). Previous studies have shown that the adoption of IF and EF significantly alter motor performance and that EF promotes automaticity (Wulf, 2013). Sports performance and balance studies utilizing EEG spectral analyses report increased alpha oscillations during expert performance and stable balance and increased beta …

Spectral Decomposition Of The Scattered Light Due To Deposits On The Solar Panel Surface, And Cross Correlated To Power Loss, Suzanna Ho

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The electric energy generated by solar panels declines due to dust particulates, bird deposits, water spots, and other contaminants that inhibit sunlight absorption and promote light scattering. As part of our research, we use cameras to capture images of solar panels, and analyze the images to detect the amount of scattered light. The more scattered light there is, the less light there is to penetrate the solar panel glass and reach the part of the panel that converts incident light to electric energy; therefore, less energy is generated. In this paper, we discuss the classification algorithm we developed to classify …

Modeling And Analysis Of Pedestrian Flows, Romesh Khaddar

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

According to the Traveler Opinion and Perception Survey of 2005, about 107.4 million Americans regularly use walking as a mode of transport during their commute, which amounts for 51% of the total American population. In 2009, 4092 pedestrian fatalities were reported nationwide, out of 59,000 pedestrian crashes. This amounts for 12% of the fatalities in the total traffic accidents recorded, and shows an over-representation of pedestrians incidents. Thus, it is imperative to understand the causes behind such statistics, and conduct a comprehensive research on pedestrian walking behavior and their interaction with surroundings.

A lot of researches on pedestrian flows have …

Spatial Analysis Of Chipped Stone At The Cypro-Ppnb Site Of Krittou Marottou Ais Giorkis: A Gis-Assisted Study, Levi Lowell Keach

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Krittou Marottou Ais Giorkis (`Ais Giorkis) is an Aceramic Neolithic site, occupied approximately 9,500 cal B.P., and located in the western foothills of the Troodos Mountains on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. This thesis is an intra-site spatial analysis of the chipped stone assemblage recovered between 1997 and 2013 from the site using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology. Previous work on the assemblage from 1997 through 2004 had attempted spatial analysis using traditional statistical methods and found no patterning (O'Horo 2008). Using the expanded database and GIS this thesis identifies multiple spatial patterns in the assemblage with implications on the …

Simulation, And Overload And Stability Analysis Of Continuous Time Sigma Delta Modulator, Kyung Kang

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The ever increasing demand for faster and more powerful digital applications requires high speed, high resolution ADCs. Currently, sigma delta modulators ADCs are extensively used in broadband telecommunication systems because they are an effective solution for high data-rate wireless communication systems that require low power consumption, high speed, high resolution, and large signal bandwidths.

Because mixed-signal integrated circuits such as Continuous Time sigma delta modulators contain both analog and digital circuits, mixed signal circuits are not as simple to model and simulate as all discrete or all analog systems. In this dissertation, the delta transform is used to simulate CT …

After Polarity: World Political Systems, Polar Structural Transitions, And Nonpolarity, Nerses Kopalyan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The research project poses the question: what are the polar structurations of a system after unipolar transitions, and should a system transition into a nonpolar structure, how can this phenomenon be explained? In the study of polarity, two deficiencies are diagnosed that can potentially not only fill a serious gap, but also strengthen the theoretical, conceptual, and systemic tools utilized within the field. The first gap is the absence of any developed treatments of nonpolarity. Categorical taxonomy primarily revolves around uni-, bi-, tri-, or multi- polar structures. The field lacks a coherent conceptualization of nonpolarity, thus limiting the development of …

Songs By Hsiao Tyzen: The Interaction Between His Music And Taiwan, Pei-Ning Ku

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this document is to understand Taiwanese composer Hsiao Tyzen's artistic persona through analysis of the textual and musical characteristics of his songs. This document is comprised of: 1) an historical overview of Taiwan, 2) a history of Taiwanese vocal music, 3) a description of Hsiao Tyzen's life and career, 4) an introduction to Taiwanese diction, 5) an examination and analysis of musical components (melody, rhythm, accompaniment and form) of four of Tyzen's songs, and 6) a conclusion based upon sociological factors, historical influences and musical devices to define what constitutes the stylistic characteristics of the songs of …

Maritime Piracy And Armed Robbery Confrontations Across The Globe: Can Crew Action Shape The Outcomes?, Justin Stewart Lewis

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Abstract

The recent tightening of military budget constraints has called into question the feasibility of costly multilateral naval intervention used to combat maritime piracy off the eastern coast of Africa. Though past studies agree that the transformation of the Somali economy and government is crucial for a long-term solution to piracy in this part of the world, short to medium-run solutions are needed to bridge the gap. Such solutions should be fiscally sensible and serve as effective deterrents, as well as be applicable in addressing the problem of piracy and maritime armed robbery in other parts of the globe.

In …

Global Climate Change: The Political Impact Of Global Warming On Developing Countries. The Case Studies Of Egypt And Oman, Eugene Thomas O'Neal

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The discourse of climate change has become important in the field of political science, as well as in the policy-making community. Climate change has become a political phenomenon that has and will greatly impact political stability regionally and globally. Using the ecological security theory as a framework, I explored the relationship between climate change and political stability in developing countries.

This study utilizes both qualitative and quantitative analyses to investigate the relationship between climate change and its effects on political volatility in developing countries. Using regression models, the author examined all non-OECD countries (140 countries) and their relationship to political …

Subalklaine Volcanism In The Eastern Basin And Range Province: Examples From The Miocene Mccullough Range Volcanic Field And The Pliocene To Holocene Black Rock Desert Volcanic Field, Racheal Leighann Johnsen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation is composed of three papers that apply geologic mapping, whole rock geochemical and isotopic analysis, and mineral chemistry to describe two large, long-lived (~6 million years), and compositionally heterogeneous volcanic fields and posit sources of the rock types present in each. These fields are the McCullough Range in southern Nevada, which was a locus of volcanic activity from ~19 - 12 Ma and the Black Rock Desert volcanic field in west-central Utah, which began forming at ~6 Ma and is still active today, with the most recent eruption occurring ~720 years ago.

Chapter Two is composed of a …

Thermal Impacts Of Salt On Sandstones And Mudstones In The Lusitanian Basin, Portugal, Brett Perry

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In order to assess the impact of salt structures on paleotemperatures in adjacent sedimentary rocks, a field based study which quantified thermally driven diagenetic products as a function of distance from salt was undertaken. Several salt diapirs are now exposed at the surface of the Earth within the Lusitanian Basin and offered a unique opportunity to document paleothermal anomalies by studying thermally controlled diagenesis in adjacent, exposed Upper Jurassic rocks. Four transects were chosen within Upper Jurassic rocks that contained both sandstones and mudstones. Quartz cementation and albitization of feldspars, both of which are thermally driven processes, were quantified in …

New Early Miocene 40ar/39ar Ages For Nakwai, Northwest Kenya, Africa, And Paleontological Analysis Of Meroehyrax Kyongoi Dentition, Dawn Elena Reynoso

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Nakwai is a fossiliferous region in the Turkana Basin of northwestern Kenya. Until recently the only ages for the Nakwai formation were based on biostratigraphic correlation with Losodok; a late Oligocene site located to the north of Nakwai. The new 40Ar/39Ar ages in this study range from 23 Ma to 15 Ma and constrain the upper portions of the Nakwai section to the early Miocene. These ages make it the only securely dated fossil locality in the region that represents the earliest Miocene; all of the other early Miocene fossil localities date back to ~20 Ma or younger. The time …

Exploring The Inner Experience Of Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Stacy Reger

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Military veterans have returned from combat changed by exposure to trauma for as long as history has been recorded. The field of psychology contains a vast literature describing and attempting to understand Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and its detrimental effects on the lives of individuals with the disorder. Despite the volume of study dedicated to PTSD in the literature, in-depth accounts of the lived experience of individuals with PTSD are rare. The current study utilized Descriptive Experience Sampling (DES), a method based on apprehending high-fidelity accounts of momentary inner experience, to explore the inner experience of eight Operation Iraqi Freedom …

A Survey Of Ekeland's Variational Principle And Related Theorems And Applications, Jessica Robinson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Ekeland's Variational Principle has been a key result used in various areas of analysis such as fixed point analysis, optimization, and optimal control theory. In this paper, the application of Ekeland's Variational Principle to Caristi's Fixed Point Theorem, Clarke's Fixed Point Theorem, and Takahashi's Minimization theorem is the focus. In addition, Ekeland produced a version of the classical Pontryagin Mini- mum Principle where his variational principle can be applied. A further look at this proof and discussion of his approach will be contrasted with the classical method of Pontryagin. With an understanding of how Ekeland's Variational Princple is used in …

Corrugated Ware Function And Use As Identity Markers At The Harris Site, Danielle Romero

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This thesis examines the function of corrugated vessels and addresses pithouse and group identity through the differences in technological and design style at the Harris site (LA 1867), a Late Pithouse period (550-1000 CE) Mimbres Mogollon pithouse village. Corrugated wares have long been defined as utilitarian cooking vessels. The goal of this research is to shed more light on corrugated wares as a ceramic type that served a variety of functions outside of cooking, including a presence in ritual spheres. This research also explores the use of technological and design styles of corrugated wares to discuss individual and group identity. …

Modeling Pavement Distress Rates Within U.S. Air Force Airfields, Lauren Sahagun

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Through the review of Pavement Condition Index (PCI) surveys completed at Air Force installations scattered across the continental United States, pavement engineers at the Air Force Civil Engineer Center propose that the predominant factor contributing to pavement distress development is climate. They suggest that within each pavement distress type (i.e. alligator cracking, rutting, spalling, etc.) a geographic pattern exists that is strongly correlated to the conventional climate zones within the US. Knowledge of these geographic patterns would equip pavement engineers and asset managers with a powerful tool to develop purposeful maintenance strategies specific to each distress type.

The following approach …

Remote Sensing Based On Hyperspectral Data Analysis, Ershad Sharifahmadian

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In remote sensing, accurate identification of far objects, especially concealed objects is difficult. In this study, to improve object detection from a distance, the hyperspecral imaging and wideband technology are employed with the emphasis on wideband radar. As the wideband data includes a broad range of frequencies, it can reveal information about both the surface of the object and its content. Two main contributions are made in this study:

1) Developing concept of return loss for target detection: Unlike typical radar detection methods which uses radar cross section to detect an object, it is possible to enhance the process of …

Designing A Biomimetic Testing Platform For Actuators In A Series-Elastic Co-Contraction System, Ryan Tyler Schroeder

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Actuators determine the performance of robotic systems at the most intimate of levels. As a result, much work has been done to assess the performance of different actuator systems. However, biomimetics has not previously been utilized as a pretext for tuning a series elastic actuator system with the purpose of designing an empirical testing platform. Thus, an artificial muscle tendon system has been developed in order to assess the performance of two distinct actuator types: (1) direct current electromagnetic motors and (2) ultrasonic rotary piezoelectric motors. Because the design of the system takes advantage of biomimetic operating principles such as …

An Examination Of Implicit Values In Cornerstone Student Affairs Textbooks, Nathan Slife

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The field of student affairs is properly cautious about indoctrination. Indoctrination, after all, clearly contradicts the field's ethical statements and standards. These cautions have led student affairs researchers to investigate explicit values in the field to prevent explicit forms of indoctrination. However, recent investigations of implicit values in the discipline of psychology have revealed a potential new source of indoctrination not currently studied in student affairs. Specifically, psychological researchers have identified a system of implicit values called liberal individualism that has been found to be pervasive throughout the psychological discipline. Given the widely acknowledged link between student affairs and psychology, …

Influence Of Social Media In Stages Of Democratization, Ira David Sternberg

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Internet and social media have become a pervasive part of our global environment over the last few decades, utilized primarily for commerce, communication, and entertainment. The last several years, however, have seen an increase in the application of social media in political discourse and activities, primarily in developed democracies and autocracies. Does that mean social media can influence democratic transition and consolidation in the 21st century? Are the examples of the Green Movement in 2009 and the Arab Spring in 2011 a validation of social media in service to democracy, or is social media also a tool for surveillance …