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"Persephone's Contemporary Dilemma: Consent, Sexuality, And "Female Empowerment." [2015], Cassandra Elizabeth Cerjanic

Master's Theses

Greek mythology never strays very far from Western imagination. Though every few years literature involving the infamous Gods tapers off into the back of our collective minds, a resurgence soon follows. The late Romantic literary movement (as popularized by Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelly, and John Keats) depended heavily upon Greco- Roman mythology to help illustrate characters that existed somewhere between the shadow of imagination and the truth of humanity. Perhaps in an attempt to harken back to Romanticism, contemporary poetry has once again given life to the Greek Gods. Mythological characters can be seen throughout the works of modern …

Reliability Of 3-Dimensional Measures Of Single-Leg Cross Drop Landing Across 3 Different Institutions: Implications For Multicenter Biomechanical And Epidemiological Research On Acl Injury Prevention, Christopher A. Dicesare, Nathaniel A. Bates, Kim D. Barber Foss, Staci M. Thomas, Samuel C. Wordeman, Dai Sugimoto, Benjamin D. Roewer, Jennifer M. Medina Mckeon, Stephanie Di Stasi, Brian W. Noehren, Kevin R. Ford, Adam W. Kiefer, Timothy E. Hewett, Gregory D. Myer

Physical Therapy Faculty Publications

Background: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are physically and financially devastating but affect a relatively small percentage of the population. Prospective identification of risk factors for ACL injury necessitates a large sample size; therefore, study of this injury would benefit from a multicenter approach.

Purpose: To determine the reliability of kinematic and kinetic measures of a single-leg cross drop task across 3 institutions.

Study Design: Controlled laboratory study.

Methods: Twenty-five female high school volleyball players participated in this study. Three-dimensional motion data of each participant performing the single-leg cross drop were collected at 3 institutions over a period of 4 …

Factors Influencing Critical Care Nurses To Speak Up When Patients Are At Risk For Harm: Development Of An Instrument, Deborah Ruth Crumpler

Nursing Theses and Dissertations

Nurses intervene in situations where patients may be at risk for harm, particularly in critical care units where risk due to severity of illness and complexity of treatment is higher. Although safety improvements have been made, nurses still report barriers to speaking-up. Improvement in skilled communication and true collaboration among health care professionals begins with assessment of the problem. Attitudes and beliefs that influence speaking-up behaviors among critical care nurses have not been well-documented. This research study utilized a mixed-method design framed by the Theory of Planned Behavior to explore factors associated with intention to speak up among critical care …

Inner Experience While Reading Fiction: A Descriptive Experience Sampling Exploration, Vincent Peter Brouwers

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Reading is ubiquitous. In Western culture, childhood education places a strong emphasis on acquiring the ability to read. Whereas many studies have examined the cognitive processes underlying reading ability, no previous studies have used a high-fidelity method of sampling inner experience to examine the direct, momentary inner experience while reading. The current study used the Descriptive Experience Sampling Method (DES) to explore the inner experience of 17 undergraduates, who had been trained in DES, while reading classical short stories. We found that participants while reading often innerly saw a visual depiction of the story, though the congruency of these depictions …

Literacy And Social Justice: Understanding Student Perceptions And Conceptions About Literature, Jennifer Marie Crosthwaite

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Literacy and learning is a social process, one that is both transformative, empowering, and can often lead to social change. The following study is based on the idea that literacy can be used as a tool not only to teach the basic skills of reading, but the skills for individuals to learn to be compassionate towards others, understand their individuality, and envision how their self can alter their community for a more just world. The frameworks that support these concepts are socio-cultural theory, reader response theory, and critical literacy theory. The intersection of these three theories highlight the importance of …

Examining Resilience In Relation To Ptsd Symptomatology In Maltreated Youth, Timothy Day

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Resilience following exposure to adverse life situations is an ongoing process that reduces the impact of traumatic experiences and opens potential for posttraumatic growth (Fincham, Altes, Stein, & Seedat, 2009; Luthar, Cicchetti, & Becker, 2000). The relationship between resilience and risk for PTSD in maltreated youth, however, remains unclear. This study sought to explore this relationship by examining a sense of mastery, a sense of relation to others, and emotional reactivity in youth endorsing a history of maltreatment related trauma. Participants were recruited from a Las Vegas Department of Family Services affiliated clinic and were administered the Children’s PTSD Inventory …

Perceptions Toward The Value Of Higher Education For Hotel Professionals In Las Vegas: A Case Study, Gary Lee Deel

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study concerns a qualitative investigation of the views toward higher education and its importance to hospitality career success among hotel professionals in the Las Vegas, Nevada area. Existing literature supported the premise that education may be important to professional career success in several different ways, and that values concerning education may be passed from one person to another via social learning. However, the relevant theories had not previously been evaluated within the context of the hospitality industry. Professionals in reporting relationships at two Las Vegas hotels were interviewed to determine perceptions about higher education, the sources of those perceptions, …

Thank You For Your Time! Would You Mind Donating To Our Cause? The Effect Of Gratitude On Prosocial Behavior, Matthew L. Hortt

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

A random assignment experiment examined the effects of three expressions of gratitude on two prosocial behaviors: volunteering and making monetary donations to charitable organizations. The results indicated that two of the expressions of gratitude had a significant opposite effect on the two prosocial behaviors. Both a verbal thank-you speech and a hand written thank-you note, resulted in a significant reduction in the amount of pledged volunteer hours, while resulting in a significant increase in the amount of pledged charitable dollars. The third expression of gratitude, a ten dollar thank-you gift card, produced no significant findings for either prosocial behavior. The …

The Role Of Adaptive Capacity On The Subjective Career Success Of Former D-I African-American Male Athletes: A Mixed-Method Study, Leon Antonio Jackson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

African-American male student-athletes who played a revenue-generating sport enter the labor market having relatively poor social networks, low grade point averages, few marketable skills outside of sports, restricted work experiences, and marginal subject matter knowledge; most of which are the result of their participation in sports (Singer, 2008). Therefore making the transition more difficult than even the average African-American male (Edwards, 1980). The purpose of this study was to: (1) Determine the factors that predict subjective career success for former D-I African-American male athletes who played a revenue-generating sport, and (2) Explore how former D-I African-American male athletes, who played …

The Impact Of Parental Divorce On Children's Confidence Levels In Young Adulthood, Lawrence Jackson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Divorce continues to be a life transition that affects a substantial amount of adults and children each year. In addition to the impact that divorce can have on adults involved, the impact of divorce is amplified greatly when there are children involved. Divorce can have long-term effects and may influence children’s relationship satisfaction, trust, commitment in intimate relationships, and optimism (Mustonen, Huurre, Haukkala, Kiviruusu, & Aro, 2011). The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between social support and confidence levels for those impacted by parental divorce. Social support includes guidance counseling, service support, or financial support (Kitson, …

Evidence-~Based Practices: An Exploratory Study Concerning School District Professional Development Considerations, Pamela Marie Juniel

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The identification and implementation of evidence-based practices by special education and general education teachers continues to be an issue in the field of education (Cook & Cook, 2011; Cook, Tankersley, Cook, & Landrum, 2008). Since the mandates of providing students with disabilities access to the general education curricula (IDEA, 2004) with services based on empirical research (NCLB, 2001) are required, teachers are implored to improve their teaching skills (Cook et al., 2008). Recently, the field of education has made efforts to support teachers in the identification and use of evidence-based practices by establishing a system and process for identifying evidence-based …

Examining The Dynamics Of Infant Face Processing Using State Space Grids, Andrea Jane Kayl

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In this investigation we examined the potential processes underlying infant preferences for and categorization of male and female faces as well as the outcome of these preferences. Infants with female primary caregivers exhibit preferences for same-race females over males and categorize females more readily than males. Little is known, however, about how infants may arrive at these collective preferences and categorization abilities. In research settings infants are exposed to novel stimuli in relatively short periods of time, and their experiences outside of the lab may be imposing structure onto their learning in lab settings. We used state space grids (SSGs) …

Experiencing Parental Loss During Adolescence And Factors Influencing Hospital Involvement And The Grieving Process, Vaida Kazlauskaite

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Experiencing the death of a loved one can be traumatic and painful to anyone. Adolescents in particular experience death in a unique way, during a time in their lives when they are developing their own autonomy and independence. Experiencing the deteriorating conditions of a terminally ill parent may affect an adolescent in many ways. However, there is relatively little research on adolescent involvement in the medical setting during a parent’s terminal illness and how this may affect the adolescent’s bereavement. This qualitative study utilized heuristic inquiry and procedures of Grounded Theory to investigate factors influencing the involvement in the hospital …

Evaluating A Novel Approach For Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patient Education: Modified Team -~ Based Learning, Corine Belle Lazaro

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

One of the world’s most serious health issues today is the increasing prevalence of diabetes (Chobev, Sotirovska, Mihajilov, 2011). Indeed, the growth of this widespread and pernicious disease has been categorized as epidemic. The antidote for the diabetes epidemic lies in prevention and the use of a chronic care model that focuses on improving diabetes self-management. For both diabetes prevention and self-management, a core component pertains to knowledge—and specifically to improved public health literacy, public health education, and patient education. For example, ongoing patient education is a critical factor in helping patients to manage their diabetes and prevent the micro- …

Integration Of Audio-~Visual Emotional Information In Schizophrneia, Bern Lee

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Schizophrenia (SZ) is a debilitating illness characterized by a number of perceptual and

cognitive deficits. Deficits in emotional judgment and perception are consistently identified, although less is known about the integration of emotional information from separate sensory modalities. This study investigates the integration of auditory and visual emotional information in schizophrenia and healthy controls through application of an emotion judgment task modeled after the McGurk effect. The emotional judgments of 54 participants (40 SZ and 14 control participants from the community) for auditory, visual, and bimodal phonemic stimuli conveying no lexical information were analyzed. Visual and auditory stimuli conveying joy …

Adapting And Piloting An Evidence-~Based Hiv/Aids And Teen Pregnancy Prevention Intervention For Native American Teens, Murlynn Crystal Lee

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Introduction: Native American youth are at disproportionate risk for HIV infection. Native Americans represent about 1.7% of the U.S. population, yet they rank fifth in HIV/AIDS diagnosis nationwide (U.S. Census, 2012; CDCd 2013). Native Americans with HIV/AIDS are more likely to be younger than non-Native Americans with the disease. There are limited evidence-based HIV/AIDS and teen pregnancy prevention interventions that have been developed, adapted, and/or evaluated for Native American teens. The purpose of this study was to adapt an existing evidence-based HIV/AIDS and teen pregnancy prevention intervention into a culturally responsive intervention curriculum for Native teens. Methods: There were three …

A Comparison Of Beliefs And Attitudes About Body Image, Eating And Weight Between Incarcerated And Non-~Incarcerated Females, Anne R. Lindsay

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Abstract

Incarceration and substance abuse are two of the largest public health issues in America. While the U.S. makes up only 5% of the world’s population, it accounts for 25% of its prisoners. Incarceration affects more than 2.2 million individuals who will eventually return to their families and communities with ongoing family, social and health issues. Women in prison are a particularly vulnerable and underserved population, generally of low education and socio-economic status and although they account for a small percent of the prison population, many are mothers of young children who are likely to become incarcerated themselves. Substance abuse …

Factor Analysis Of The Sport Interference Checklist With Collegiate Athletes, Travis Albert Loughran

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

There are a variety of cognitive and behavioral factors that have been indicated to have a negative impact on sport performance. College student-athletes may be at particular risk to evidence problems that interfere with optimal sport performance due to high physical, social, and emotional demands. To fully understand what factors influence student-athlete sport performance, appropriate, psychometrically validated assessment measures are needed. The Sport Interference Checklist (SIC) is an assessment tool that was developed to assess sport performance in both training and competitive situations for student-athletes. The SIC includes two scales, the Problems in Sport Training Scale (PSTS) and the Problems …

Health Impact Assessment Of Proposed Rental Housing Policy Within Clark County, Nevada, Usa, Erika Raquel Marquez

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Homes serve as a central function of our everyday lives, they are where most Americans spend a significant amount of time and money. The quality of our homes can impact our health. Poor housing can cause and contribute to preventable diseases and injuries, such as the development or exacerbation of asthma, neurological deficits, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. According to the American Housing Survey (2013) approximately 5.8 million homes, of 132 million homes in the United States, are in moderate to severe physical disrepair, with rental housing being at a disproportionate burden. According to 2013 U.S. Census, Clark County, Nevada has …

Forecasting The School-To-Prison Pipeline: A Generative Case Study Of Early Literacy Experiences Of Black Male Youth, Tarryn E. Mcghie

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study examined the early literacy experiences of Black male youth who have dropped out of school and become court involved. Specifically, it examined how these youth’s home, family and school literacy-related experiences have led them into what is known as the School-to-Prison Pipeline (STPP). These experiences included their ability to glean meaning and understand literacy processes, particularly in reading and through oral language, more specifically in their interactions with school faculty and staff.

This study employed a four-pronged conceptual framework, built at the intersection of Critical Race Theory, Adolescent Development, Critical Literacy, and the STPP, in considering the existing …

What Is Hip? David Garibaldi: His Musical Life, His Influences, And His Contributions, Jeremy Tait Meronuck

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This document presents the chronological development, evolution and activity of David Garibaldi, drummer with the Oakland, California-based band Tower of Power. Garibaldi created his signature drumming voice by continuous study, dedication to the instrument, and incorporating many influences into his performance. His work is known worldwide and is influential to many who play drum set. This document surveys information from past publications; interviews with band members; colleagues, and; David Garibaldi. Each section is divided into periods of time from early development to the present day. Chapters include detailed information on events and influences that led him into music as a …

Effects Of Picture Activity Schedules On Tasks Completed, Michael Eric Morrisett

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Self-determination is the freedom to make choices that impact an individual’s life. Many people would agree that self-determination leads to an enhanced quality of life, and choice making is considered a central element in self-determination. Most learn choice making through a gradual release of responsibility by caregivers throughout their childhood and adolescence. Many times, this is not the case for students with autism. Completed research examining choice making and people with autism has shown promising results; however, one of the primary traits of autism, the need for structured routines, often does not lend itself to evaluating choice making. Activity schedules …

Tweet Vs Status Update: Exploring Ways To Promote Collaborative Argumentation In An Online Classroom Setting, Marissa Christina Owens

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The focus of this study was to answer the following overarching question: How does a Twitter discussion format compare to a Facebook discussion format in terms of promoting collaborative argumentative discourse? Data analysis focused on the difference in amount of arguments, counter-arguments, reasons, and elaborations generated by participants between the two social media platforms. In addition, the impact of participant use of sentence openers on the amount of argument components was also examined. A Mann-Whitney statistical test was conducted to determine the differences between Twitter and Facebook groups in argument components across three small group discussion questions. The results of …

The Lived Experience Of Nurses Working In A Modified Therapeutic Community, Victoria Lynn Plagenz

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Today over one million U. S. prisoners are being held in federal and state systems for substance use-related crimes. The financial, social, and emotional costs have turned policymakers’ attention to rehabilitation rather than incarceration. In an attempt to meet the challenge of recovery from addiction, prison systems around the nation have explored various options, including residential treatment programs. One such form of residential treatment is the modified therapeutic community (MTC) where inmates participate in a nine-month, cognitive-based treatment program. This model focuses on incarcerated individuals, addicted to substances, to assist them in developing behaviors to reduce antisocial peer associations and …

Multicultural Education In Action: A Multiple Case Study Of Black Elementary Aged Children's Identity Development And Engagement With Civil Rights Literature, Rebekah E. Piper

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In the United States education system a large achievement gap between African American and Latino students compared to White American students exists. Various studies have documented the gap, but there has not been much success in closing it. Recognizing that the educational system is growing more, not less, diverse, including due to the rise in enrollments of students of color and the decrease of the same by white students based on birthrates and immigration trends, the success of this increasingly diverse student population is even more important to the success of the nation. Preparing teachers to integrate multicultural content and …

What Do We See: Number Line Estimation With Eye Tracking, Sarah Ann Salas

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The following paper presents a study investigating adult number line estimation patterns through use of an eye tracker. Estimation patterns were examined by changing the range of the number line on which the estimations occur from the typical ranges of 0-100 and 0-1000 to a more difficult range of 0-723. There were two main conditions of the experiment; in one condition the number to estimate and the number line were presented simultaneously, and in the other condition, the number line presentation was delayed. In each of the two conditions of the experiment, eye fixations and area of interest analysis were …

Differences In Absenteeism Severity Among Community Youth, Kyleigh Kay Sheldon

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study examined the relationship between school absenteeism severity and specific clinical and family variables in 118 middle and high school youth aged 11-19 years recruited from two truancy settings. The primary aim was to determine specific clinical and family variables that may be predictive of absenteeism severity in community youth. A secondary aim was to examine the level of absenteeism that warrants the most clinical concern. Hypotheses for the proposed study were based on the premise that characteristics of a community sample of youth with problematic absenteeism would generally resemble those identified in previous clinical samples. The first set …

Transformational Leadership Increases Self-Determination And Positively Impacts Hospitality Frontline Employees, Xiao Zhang

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This professional paper presents literature by exploring the role of self-determination theory between the relationship of transformational leadership and hospitality employees’ well-being. It integrates the present research on leadership style, needs theory and well-being and provides useful and meaningful information for executives and organizations who are dedicated to improve employees’ well-being.

Servant Leadership And Related Issues In Chinese Hotel Industry, Yiqing Wang

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Because of the economy growth and the Open Door Policy, Chinese hotel industry was under a huge expansion. Since more and more western customers are visiting and Chinese customers are having more hotel experience abroad, the service Chinese hotels used to provide dose not meet the standard anymore. So the managers and leaders need to find an appropriate approach to encourage their employees to improve the service to their customers. This research went through over 40 articles about Chinese hotel industry and Chinese culture and found out that servant leadership style should be the best approach to engage the employees.

Citizen Participation Within Mental Health Planning And Advisory Councils, Ronald W. Strickland

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation studies citizen participation, mental health care and block grants. Each state has a Mental Health Planning and Advisory Council (MHPAC) that is required by the Community Mental Health Services Block Grant program. Councils must consist of at least 50 percent citizens. This dissertation looked at MHPAC activity levels of the 50 states (and Washington, DC) and developed an activity level index to measure council activity from 2008-2011. Two main questions were posed. First, do planning council differ in their level of activity? If so, what explains this variation? Second, do differences in activity levels of MHPAC’s explain variations …