Digital Commons Network^™

Fighting For Fellowship: An Ethnographic Exploration Of Mixed Martial Arts Culture In Las Vegas, Brian O'Hara

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Due to the legalization of social taboos including prostitution, gambling, and marijuana, many historical portrayals of Las Vegas have been unfavorable. Furthermore, powerful mediated imagery complete with vivid pictures of encouraged hedonism and celebrated debauchery has added to negative perceptions of this city. Despite negative sentiments, city officials are often unapologetic, and even publicly boastful about the absence of traditional values and communal appeal. However, I argue that many depictions of this city do not tell the full story of what is going on here. I looked beyond surface-level imagery and representations of Las Vegas, to discover a strong sense …

The Effect Of Maoa And Stress Sensitivity On Crime And Delinquency: A Replication Study, Christa C. Christ, Joseph A. Schwartz, Scott F. Stoltenberg, Jonathan R. Brauer, Jukka Savolainen

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Across several meta-analyses, MAOA-uVNTR genotype has been associated with an increased risk for antisocial behavior among males who experienced early life adversity. Subsequently, early life stress and genetic susceptibility may have long-term effects on stress sensitivity later in life. In support of this assumption, a recent study found evidence, in two independent samples, for a three-way interaction effect (cG × E × E) such that proximate stress was found to moderate the interactive effect of MAOA-uVNTR and distal stress on crime and delinquency among males. In light of recent developments in cG × E research, we attempted to …

Learning Communities And Early Student Success, Beth Gersten

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The first year of college is a time of significant transition in a student’s life. It is also the time that provides an important foundation for subsequent years. Learning communities (LCs) consist of a group of students taking two or more classes together. The classes should have some level of curricular integration as well as social interactions that support the learning environment. LCs offer opportunities for students to participate in rich educational environments and create connections to peers and faculty that may make a difference in whether students are successful in their first year of college and whether they persist …

A Cross-Cultural Investigation Of The Relationship Between Customer Demographics And Hotel Room Price Perception, Jinhua Hong

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In this paper, the researcher explored the significant effect of multiple demographics, age, gender, marital status, and culture, on a customer’s perception of hotel room prices. The customer’s perception of hotel room rates was assessed by three variations, perceived value, perceived fairness, and willingness to pay. Descriptive statistics, MANOVA, and ANOVA were applied in this study. The results demonstrated that age, gender, and marital status had a significant impact on a customer’s perceived value; age, gender, and culture significantly influenced a customer’s perception of fairness; yet, none of these demographics had a significant impact on a customer’s willingness to pay. …

A Structural Equation Analysis Of The Relationships Between Ptsd, Depressive Symptoms And Suicidal Ideation : Is General Strain Theory A Viable Framework For Explaining Suicide Risk Among Correctional Staff?, Wm. Clay Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There is a large body of evidence, which suggests PTSD is strongly related to increased suicide risk, however, some studies suggest the true nature of their relationship is better explained through the development of depression due to the effects of PTSD. While a majority of the studies examining this relationship focus only on general populations, a growing body research suggests that high-risk occupations such as police, firefighters and correctional staff are developing PTSD at rates as high as 8 to 10 times that of the rate of these general samples. This study, then, aims to fill a small gap in …

Macro-Level Predictors Of Assaults Against Police In Kentucky., Virginia Paulette Redman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Law enforcement is one of the most dangerous careers. Every day, while performing their jobs, police officers may find themselves in situations that place them at a high risk of being victimized or even feloniously killed by members of the public. Over the past five decades, several quantitative and qualitative research studies tried to identify the circumstances and the individual-level factors associated with an increased risk of police victimization. While most of the research studies focusing on police victimization were descriptive and/or were based on micro-level analyses, macro-level research on this topic is relatively scant. This dissertation intends to reduce …

Transgender And Racial Identities Negotiation Processes Of Transgender Asians, Asian Americans, And Pacific Islanders : A Transcendental Phenomenological Examination., Jayden Thai

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

While the field of transgender (trans) research is vastly growing and expanding, little is known about the process in which trans Asian and Pacific Islanders (API) individuals experience, navigate, and negotiate their trans and API cultural identities. The aims of this study were to: 1) examine the navigation and negotiation process for trans API individuals related to their cultural identities and values; 2) enhance, enrich, and diversify existing trans and API literature by generating foundational and complex understanding of trans API identity processes; and 3) challenge hegemonic narratives regarding trans API individuals’ lived experiences. Moustakas’ (1994) transcendental phenomenological qualitative methodology …

Statistics Anxiety Towards Learning New Statistical Software, Shahd Saad Alnofaie

Theses

Based on previous research, statistics anxiety towards statistics were discussed. There is a study about anxiety and attitude of graduate students in on-campus vs. online statistics courses, and student attitude toward statistics. To date, no one has seemed to examine anxiety toward statistics with regard to use of coding vs. noncoding software. The purpose of this study was to know the level of anxiety towards learning new statistical software. Responses from seventy-nine graduate students who have or had classes in the Applied Statistics Division were collected. The survey made for this study had a Likert scale that included three categories …

College Self-Funding Predicting Deviant Behaviors, Blake A. Darling

Masters Theses

This study examines the effects of the source of college funding on student participation in four deviant behaviors: monthly binge drinking, monthly marijuana use, illicit drug use, and academic cheating. Using secondary data from a self-reported online survey conducted at a midwestern University, competing hypotheses based in general strain theory and social bond theory, were tested. Logistic regression analyses of the four deviant behaviors suggest that the source of college funding has a very limited effect. Only in the cases of marijuana use and illicit drug use were significant relationships observed; where students whose funding came from their parents were …

What Provides For Me As I Provide For Others? A Study Of Homeless Shelters Employees Within Kalamazoo, Michigan, Melanie Jezior

Masters Theses

Homeless shelters run on one thing: workers. Without workers there is no supportive aid for the homeless. A daunting and emotional job that is taken on by thousands, but why? Is the goal in entering this line of work to make an impact on homeless populations, a lasting difference? Everyone has their own personal reasons, however what are the main reasons for people going into a job like shelter work? What is it that motivates these workers to continue this line of work or motivates them to leave? It is a job that offers low pay, and emotional settings. A …

The Differences Of Musical Self-Expression And The Interrelationships Within Group Music Improvisation Between Japan And The United States, Rieko Eguchi

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Individualism and collectivism are described in various domains, and those are often referred to describe people’s cultural characteristics. Those characteristics are also deeply related to how to perceive ‘self’ in a cultural context. As a presupposition, America is often regarded as an individualistic society, and Japan is often regarded as a collectivistic society. From a music therapy perspective, sound reflects our inner world. Based on these concepts, this study was designed to investigate if there were any culturally-related characteristics in the sound of group music improvisation in America and Japan, and any connectedness regarding self-expression and interrelationship.

The purpose of …

The Effect Of Dark Personality Traits And Cultural Logics On Counter-Productive Work Behaviors, Anastasia I. Angelbeck

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Social Exchange Theory postulates that individuals build relationships on the basis that the parties involved are mutually engaging in reciprocity of benefits or rewards. Social exchange theory implies certain belief systems and dispositions shift expected ways of relating to organizations, with some more willing to exploit co-workers and organizations. The following study compared the bivariate and incremental importance of the Dark Triad (Psychopathy, Narcissism, and Machiavellianism) in relation to the Triadic Cultural Codes (Face, Honor, and Dignity) in predicting counterproductive work behaviors, both globally and broken down by interpersonal (CWB-I) and organizationally (CWB-O) directed acts. We found significant associations for …

University Of Nebraska-Lincoln Digitalcommons: Statistical Report, August 2018, Deeann Allison, Paul Royster, Sue Ann Gardner, Margaret Mering, Linnea Fredrickson

Copyright, Fair Use, Scholarly Communication, etc.

To: Deeann Allison, Director, Media & Repository Services, UNL Libraries

I am pleased to transmit the following statistics report on the UNL DigitalCommons, http://digitalcommons.unl.edu

The DigitalCommons is the “institutional repository” for UNL. It’s function is to gather the intellectual output of the university for online public access. It was established in 2005, and now holds 99,000 papers, making it the 3rd largest in the United States, trailing only the University of California system (190,000) and the University of Michigan (120,000). It recently surpassed 50 million downloads, and is the nation’s current leader in that category. Alexa.com reports that the repository …

Check Six: The Duke Cunningham Story, Ninette Del Rosario Sosa

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This short documentary film is about one man’s ascent, descent and redemption for making an extremely poor personal decision that has impacted his entire adult life. Randall “Duke” Cunningham, 76, is a former U.S. Republican Congressman from California who was sentenced in 2005 to more than eight years in prison for accepting bribes totaling $2.4 million and tax evasion. He was released from an Arizona prison in 2013 and moved to Hot Springs Village, Arkansas because he had a brother and sister-in-law who lived there and they could assist him in getting settled. He said the area was quiet and …

Impact Of The Implementation Of Class-Wide Function-Related Intervention Teams On Adolescent Student Behavior, Dana Renee Speight

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Disproportionality in discipline has been well-documented in the research literature (Achilles, McLaughlin, & Croninger, 2007; Losen & Gillespie, 2012; Gregory, Skiba, & Mediratta, 2017; Skiba, Peterson, & Williams, 1997). Students from diverse ethnic backgrounds and students with disabilities are removed from their classrooms more frequently than their Caucasian peers without disabilities (Losen & Gillespie, 2012). This disparate removal of students from diverse ethnic backgrounds and students with disabilities has spurned education stakeholders to call for removal of punitive policies and replacement with positive behavior interventions and supports. This study sought to evaluate the impact of Class-Wide Function-related Intervention Teams (CW-FIT) …

Institute For Innovation In Prosecution (Iip) Practitioner Learning: Building A More Equitable And Effective System, Arlana K. Henry

Publications and Research

This report presents the findings from follow-up interviews conducted by the Research and Evaluation Center at John Jay College (JohnJayREC) with prosecutors who attended the 2017 Practitioner Learning seminar hosted by the Institute for Innovation in Prosecution (IIP). Conducted between November 2017 and January 2018, the interviews aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the resources and tools provided during the seminar in supporting prosecutorial reform. The results were largely positive, with prosecutors expressing strong interest in continued collaboration with the IIP. Key findings include prosecutors’ receptiveness to reform efforts, the positive impact of the seminar on their practices, and the …

Minnesota Multiphasic Inventory-2 Restructured Form (Mmpi-2-Rf) Personality Characteristics Of Parents Evaluated For Child Neglect, Emily Burch

Theses and Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to examine Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Assessment-2-Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) profiles of parents who underwent psychological evaluation subsequent to substantiated claims by the Florida Department of Children and Families of child neglect. A second purpose was to assess profile differences between this sample and a sample of parents with substantiated claims of child physical abuse, with a particular focus on evaluating comparative levels of internalizing factors, externalizing factors, and defensiveness. Samples were also compared in regards to their levels of substance usage, as this was shown in prior literature to be a salient psychosocial factor …

Adaptive Water Governance And Community Resilience: Assessing The Impact Of The Cache River Wetlands Joint Venture Partnership On Communities In The Cache River Watershed Of Southern Illinois, Rachel Emeline Boucher

Theses

Resilience is a concept that is becoming heavily researched in the sustainability and resource management literature. For rural resource-dependent communities, community resilience is the ability to adapt to various drivers of change while maintaining or enhancing community well-being. In recent decades, the field of water resource governance has been transitioning from a reliance on command-and-control institutional structures toward adaptive multi-level institutions, such as adaptive co-management and adaptive governance. These transitions offer potential opportunities for enhancing the resilience and sustainability of resource-dependent communities. However, the relationship between these emerging governance approaches and community resilience is not fully understood. The Cache River …

Civilization, Again!, Despina Lalaki

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

A Cross-Sectional Study On Korean American Mental Health Challenges And Help-Seeking Behavior, Kelly Eunjung Baek

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Mental distress in the Korean American community remains chronically high yet professional service utilization is amongst the lowest of any ethnic group in the United States. With high rates of co-morbidity in this community, it is critical to utilize a multilevel approach to understand the scope of distress of distress by simultaneously analyzing the occurrences of anxiety, depression, and hwa-byung (a Korean cultural illness), in addition to studying factors that impact help-seeking behavior. To contextualize the unique circumstances and factors that impact mental health challenges and resource utilization in the community, Critical Race Theory and Anderson’s Healthcare Utilization Model was …

Generational Status And Views On Nonconforming Gender Expression Among Individuals Of Mexican Origin, Bianca C. Lopez

Theses and Dissertations

Despite recent change of perspectives and an increase of acceptance of gender nonconformity, the concept of gender still remains a controversial topic. Gender continues to be a developing idea and maintains an influential role in many cultural contexts. Examining facets of gender in various settings can perhaps enlighten our comprehension of such and a further understanding of those who express gender nontraditionally. This study examines the concept of gender in a less traditional stance, exploring views of non-conforming gender expression among generations of Mexican Americans and individuals of Mexican origin. Through analysis of survey data on views of gender nonconformity …

Persuasive Intelligence: On The Construction Of Rhetor-Ethical Cognitive Machines, Nathan D. Riggs

All Dissertations

This work concerns the rhetorical and moral agency of machines, offering paths forward in machine ethics as well as problematizing the issue through the development and use of an interdisciplinary framework informed by rhetoric, philosophy of mind, media studies and historical narrative. I argue that cognitive machines of the past as well as those today, such as rapidly improving autonomous vehicles, are unable to make moral decisions themselves foremost because a moral agent must first be a rhetorical agent, capable of persuading and of being persuaded. I show that current machines, artificially intelligent or otherwise, and especially digital computers, are …

Investigating The Management Of Visitor Experiences In Recreational Boating, Geoffrey Koome Riungu

All Dissertations

Recreational boating is a popular activity on public waterways. Boaters enjoy a multitude of natural lakes and rivers, but these waterways are a limited natural resource. In some cases, crowding caused by high rates of boating participation has strained the capacity of this natural resource base, generating conflict between participants and environmental impacts. Therefore, waterway managers may develop regulations for the number or types of boats allowed at one time. This is often referred to as visitor capacity.

With many waterways in the U.S. located in protected areas (PAs), their management are guided by legal regulations or statutory frameworks such …

Complete Issue 11(3)

Speaker & Gavel

Complete digitized issue (volume 11, number 3, March 1974) of Speaker & Gavel.

Complete Issue 8(2)

Speaker & Gavel

Complete digitized issue (volume 8, issue 2, January 1971) of Speaker & Gavel.

Complete Issue 8(1)

Speaker & Gavel

Complete digitized issue (volume 8, issue 1, November 1970) of Speaker & Gavel.

Reflections On Daring Greatly: How The Courage To Be Vulnerable Transforms The Way We Live, Love, Parent And Lead, Ann Marie Palmisciano

Sociology Between the Gaps: Forgotten and Neglected Topics

No abstract provided.

Political Power In The Peripheries: The Paramilitares From Magdalena Medio (Colombia), 1978-2003, Nicolás Guillermo Velásquez Hernández

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation explores the political discourse and military behavior of the “paramilitares” right-wing militia as well as of the local political alliances that sponsored and initially controlled these militias in the Magdalena Medio region, a rural periphery in Colombia, during the last decades of the 20th century. Previous literature explains these right-wing militias simultaneously as reaction of rural elites to the incapacity of the Central State to monopolize political violence and as the consequence of the rural elites fear of an agrarian reform. Yet, from a tradition Weberian perspective, it is impossible to present the state as both capable and …

Rwu Leads The Way In Saving Students Money On Textbooks, Edward Fitzpatrick

Featured News Story

Roger Williams University has saved its students an estimated $57,800 in the last academic year alone by replacing expensive printed textbooks with open educational resources (OER), which are free and openly licensed materials such as digital textbooks, multimedia files and online lesson plans.

A Comparison Of Sources Of Business Acumen For Entrepreneurs Originating From Developed And Developing Countries (A Research Note), Jacqueline Joslyn

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

The implications of migration from less developed to more developed contexts remain understudied at the individual level. With data collected from a pilot study in Tucson, Arizona, this article uses a Galois lattice to compare sources of business acumen from small business entrepreneurs originating from developed and developing countries. Osili and Paulson (2008) observe that immigrants are influenced by the institutional environment from which they originate. This contrasts with historical evidence that individuals of Mexican origin have largely assimilated to the local culture (Amado 1988). The findings offer promising evidence for Osili and Paulson’s theory and suggest that formal credentials …