Digital Commons Network^™

Comparing Reasons For Hate Crime Reporting Using Racialized Legal Status, Pamela Ho

UC Law Journal

In the past decade, Latinxs and Asians in the United States have experienced an increase in hate crime victimization. Previous research has identified correlations between hate crime reporting and race. However, few statistical studies examine the intersection of race, immigration status, and hate crime reporting. This Note explores how racialized legal status applies to Latinx and Asian communities respectively and how racialized legal status affects a hate crime victim’s decision to report the crime to police. This Note then sets forth some recommendations for increasing hate crime reporting rates by Latinx and Asian victims.

The Sacral Museum: An Analysis And Application Of Design Within Museum Architecture, Derek Shultz

Theses

This research focuses on the similarities between museum architecture and architecture found in religious, spiritual, and sacred structures around the world. Personal experience and academic research will be used to help convey and understand the effects of architecture on its occupants. This thesis examines how architectural design can facilitate a profound internal journey through learning, contemplation, and connection. Through analysis of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, it is shown that traditional and contemporary architectural elements can achieve these effects by creating a sacred, ritualistic experience, thereby enriching the cultural, educational, and emotional value of the museum visit.

Enchanted South Tarot: A Contemporary Interpretation Of Tarot, Hannah Mathis

Theses

This project uses qualitative research to create an original 78-card tarot deck. Its focus is to create a tarot deck informed by the rich history and symbolism of tarot while utilizing original art and unique experiences to create a one-of-a-kind deck. The deck’s artwork showcases flora, fauna, and manufactured objects of the Southeastern United States, referencing traditional tarot archetypes to select each card’s imagery. The deck’s guidebook introduces readers to some of the history of tarot and several historical and contemporary decks that inspired the Enchanted South deck. The project emphasizes tarot’s evolution and how each artist’s contribution adds layers …

Impactful Interactivity Within Video Games, Luke Robert Maeser

Theses

Despite half a century of existence and dedicated academic programs educating next generations of game developers, conclusive evidence does not exist as to if video games are beneficial to learning or costly. Examining the notion of benefit versus cost, it is important to assess the value of video games when leveraged as tools for learning as traditional educational methodologies are not infallible. This paper explores how video games can generate psychological responses; and therefore, one must conclude learning has occurred. The following is encompassed: meaningful interactivity within video games (regarding narrative and gameplay), video games as educational tools, video game …

The Modern Artist's Psyche: Making Meaning In Art Through History, Jenna Banks

Theses

The Modern Artist’s Psyche: Making Meaning in Art Through History provides a way for students to study and analyze works by Modern artists that explore themes like loneliness, isolation, anxiety, and despair. By studying these artists and their works, students learn about topics like art appreciation and psychoanalysis; specifically, how each artist used their mental state to create their visual products. Students learn about art appreciation through the process of discussing and answering questions about specific art works. Students also study the concept of psychoanalysis, relating to theories and techniques that have been used by Modern artists. This connects to …

The Women Of The French Royal Academy: An Improved Online Exhibition Experience, Nicole Chapman

Theses

The purpose of this project is to demonstrate the capabilities of digital spaces to engage and create in-depth teaching opportunities for museum educators. The final deliverables consist of a mock museum website and virtual exhibition that features artwork created by the female artists of the French Royal Academy during the Eighteenth-Century. The content within is tailored for Advanced Placement curriculum and the public.

Cross-Cultural Adaptation And Validation Of The Emirati Version Instrument That Assesses Cognition Problems Among The Uae Population: The Subjective Scale To Investigate Cognition - Emirates (Sstic-E), A Cross-Sectional Study, Fadwa Elgid Babikir

Dissertations

This dissertation focused on exploring the subjective complaints of cognition problems among the United Arab Emirates (UAE) population using a validated and adapted Arabic Emirati language version of a subjective scale that assesses cognition problems, -The Subjective Scale to Investigate Cognition - Emirates (SSTIC-E). Cognitive complaints and lack of cognitive insights are not specific to schizophrenia. It could be related to depression, mild cognitive impairment, dementia, or Alzheimer's. Hence, scales in this field can be very useful to assess and collect data for populations at risk of developing cognitive decline. The study aims to translate, adapt, and validate the SSTICS …

Supporting A More Equitable Learning Environment: Implications Of Person-Centered Practices On Teacher Self-Efficacy, Angela Menchaca

Masters Theses (Archived)

No abstract provided.

Perception Of Bias In Chatgpt: Analysis Of Social Media Data, Abdullah Wahbeh, Mohammad A. Al-Ramahi, Omar El-Gayar, Ahmed El Noshokaty, Tareq Nasralah

Computer Information Systems Faculty Publications (Archived)

In this study, we aim to analyze the public perception of Twitter users with respect to the use of ChatGPT and the potential bias in its responses. Sentiment and emotion analysis were also analyzed. Analysis of 5,962 English tweets showed that Twitter users were concerned about six main types of biases, namely: political, ideological, data & algorithmic, gender, racial, cultural, and confirmation biases. Sentiment analysis showed that most of the users reflected a neutral sentiment, followed by negative and positive sentiment. Emotion analysis mainly reflected anger, disgust, and sadness with respect to bias concerns with ChatGPT use.

Influence Of Pavement Conditions On Commercial Motor Vehicle Crashes, Stephen Arhin, Babin Manandhar, Adam Gatiba

Mineta Transportation Institute

Commercial motor vehicle (CMV) safety is a major concern in the United States, including the District of Columbia (DC), where CMVs make up 15% of traffic. This research uses a comprehensive approach, combining statistical analysis and machine learning techniques, to investigate the impact of road pavement conditions on CMV accidents. The study integrates traffic crash data from the Traffic Accident Reporting and Analysis Systems Version 2.0 (TARAS2) database with pavement condition data provided by the District Department of Transportation (DDOT). Data spanning from 2016 to 2020 was collected and analyzed, focusing on CMV routes in DC. The analysis employs binary …

Factors Associated With Covid-19 Vaccination Status: A Cross-Sectional Study Of California Students In Higher Education, Marcelle M. Dougan, Anji Buckner

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

To examine the factors associated with coronavirus vaccine hesitancy among students in higher education, we conducted a cross-sectional mixed-methods study between June and August 2021 among California students in higher education (n = 4444). We collected information on vaccination status, socio-demographics, and attitudes towards coronavirus vaccination. After adjusting for social demographics and social network characteristics, compared to those with household members who were vaccinated, those who had household members who were unvaccinated had 0.11 (95% CI 0.09 – 0.14) times the odds of being vaccinated. Political identification was related to vaccination status: compared to those who did not identify with …

Anxiety Severity And Prescription Medication Utilization In First-Time Medical Marijuana Users, Karen L. Dugosh, Megan M. Short, Paulina Syracuse, Thomas R. Mccalmont, Michelle R. Lent

PCOM Scholarly Works

Background

Anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are qualifying psychiatric conditions for medical marijuana (MM) treatment in Pennsylvania. This study examined baseline prevalence and changes in prescription anxiety medication use three months following MM treatment initiation among individuals with these qualifying conditions.

Methods

The study sample was comprised of 108 adults with anxiety or PTSD as a referring condition; they were enrolled in a longitudinal study evaluating biopsychosocial outcomes in new MM patients. Consenting participants completed an assessment battery at baseline and Month 3 (n = 94, 87 % follow-up rate) that included a measure of anxiety severity and …

School Social Work 238 Exam Preparation: Resources And Handouts, Leticia Villarreal Sosa, Tiffany Nelson, Brenda Coble-Lindsey, Annette Johnson, Giesela Grumbach

School of Social Work Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Covid-19 Remote Schooling On Home And School Partnerships, Katharine Ellison

Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic created significant disruptions to the conventional educational system, necessitating a widespread transition to emergency remote learning modalities by most educators and students. The primary objective of this inquiry was to gain valuable insight into the effects of the rapid innovation that occurred at home and at school throughout this period, with the aim of enhancing and guiding future home–school partnerships. The research questions were designed to explore the perceptions held by both elementary parents and elementary educators on how pandemic remote schooling affected home–school connection and family’s understanding of learning content and process. The study also involved …

Investigating The Factor Structure And Measurement Invariance Of The Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (Ede-Q) Among Cisgender Gay Men And Lesbian Women From The United States, Emilio J. Compte, F. Hunter Mcguire, Tiffany A. Brown, Jason M. Lavender, Stuart B. Murray, Matthew R. Capriotti, Annesa Flentje, Micah E. Lubensky, Mitchell R. Lunn, Juno Obedin-Maliver, Jason M. Nagata

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Background: Although the Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire (EDE-Q) is one of the most widely used self-report assessments of eating disorder symptoms, evidence indicates potential limitations with its original factor structure and associated psychometric properties in a variety of populations, including sexual minority populations. The aims of the current investigation were to explore several previously published EDE-Q factor structures and to examine internal consistency and measurement invariance of the best-fitting EDE-Q model in a large community sample of cisgender gay men and cisgender lesbian women. Methods: Data were drawn from 1624 adults (1060 cisgender gay men, 564 cisgender lesbian women) who participated …

The Bridge Newsletter Winter 2023, Missouri University Of Science And Technology

The Bridge Newsletter

-Gary White’s work on world water crisis

-Yan teams up for renewable infrastructure grant

-Sustainable futures: New life for unusable waste

-‘Engineering our Future’ by ASCE president, alumna

La Conciencia Crítica Empieza Temprano: Young Transborder Children’S Critical Conciousness Y Lo Que Implica Para Las Escuelas Primarias, Melissa Adams Corral, Sarah Gallo

Teaching and Learning Faculty Publications

Drawing upon investigaciones etnográficas with two sets of young transborder children viviendo y aprendiendo in México and the United States, en este artículo we draw upon decolonizing approaches to theorize critical consciousness formation for and with young children. Through careful attention to how children recognize inequity, critique it, and engage in a range of actions to counteract it, argumentamos que los niñes jóvenes ya están formando sus propios aspectos de la conciencia crítica. In our discussion, we highlight como esta forma auténtica de problem-posing education largely unfolds a través de dialogos con sus papas and call for pedagogies to engage …

Age-Related Oligodendrocyte Lineage And Learning Abnormalities Driven By Nf1 Mutation In Mice, Saul Lopez

Theses and Dissertations

Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1) is an autosomal dominant disease caused by mutations in the NF1 gene, on chromosome 17. NF1 patients suffer from a number of neurological issues including learning deficits and increased risk of age-related dementia. Additionally, NF1 patients present with multiple white matter and myelin abnormalities. Whether and how myelin abnormalities impact learning in NF1 is not known; therefore, we aimed to gain insights on potential links between Nf1 mutation and learning issues Unpublished data indicate that NF1 female-but not male- mice with Nf1+/- germline mutation show defects in a myelin-regulated learning/memory test (the complex wheel; CW) at …

Examining Nonadherence To Family Values And Anxiety In College Latinas, Veronica Paola Ramirez

Theses and Dissertations

Due to the rapidly growing rate of the Latinx population, mental health professionals must concentrate on finding the best treatments for this population. The group of interest for this study is young Latinas in college with anxiety symptoms. There is some research on how anxiety levels are influenced by one important factor: non-adherence to family values, however, it is important to understand what may direct this relationship. What makes this research study different is that we attempted to use family conflict as a mediator in the relationship. Furthermore, we attempted to see if levels of autonomy and emotion dysregulation …

Addressing Engagement: Student Perceptions Of Meaningful Gamification In Online Courses, Jessica M. Sanchez-Barrera

Theses and Dissertations

Although there is high enrollment in online college courses, there are concerns about student engagement (Martin & Bolliger, 2018; Dumford & Miller, 2018). Gamification has been shown to have the potential to improve student engagement. The purpose of the study was to describe how academic student engagement is impacted by Nicholson’s Meaningfully Gamified online course compared to traditionally taught online course. An embedded multiple case study research design was employed using self-determination theory as the theoretical framework to measure engagement. The theory constructs analyzed were autonomy, competence, relatedness, and student engagement. The research was conducted …

The Relationship Between The Volume And Complexity Of Books Read Based On Accelerated Reader Assessment Data And The 5th-Grade Students’ Reading Achievement Scores, Glenda Edna Rodriguez

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the reading performance data for a grade level of fifth graders using the Web-based Accelerated Reader assessment program. Based solely on student archival data, this study focused on the hypothesized relationship between the volume and complexity of quizzes taken from books read using the Accelerated Reader assessment program and academic performance on the state’s standardized reading achievement portion of the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) test. An independent sample t – test was also performed to investigate if there were any differences between the gender, language, and socioeconomic status of the subgroup …

The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On The Well-Being Of People Incarcerated In United States Prisons, Kimberly Rivera

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the population as a whole. However, the incarcerated population (which also experiences a variety of health disparities) has been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. Due to overcrowding, poor ventilation, and lack of resources, the incarcerated population already is at a heightened risk for negative health outcomes, made worse by the recent pandemic. To adapt to the rapidly changing conditions during the pandemic in 2020 and into 2022, new safety measures were implemented, but the unintended consequences associated with the implementation of these procedures have yet to be examined empirically. I conducted a qualitative content …

Correlations Between Educational Struggle, Toxic Sites By School District And Demographic Variables, With Geographical Information System Projections, Junu Shrestha, Raihan K. Khan, Shane Mcclintock, John Degroote, Catherine L. Zeman

Faculty Publications

This correlational study associated data on children enrolled in individualized educational plans in their K-12 schools (IEP) and an algorithm-calculated score of neurotoxins at contaminated sites located in each school district. The study also mapped and projected the correlations using Geographical Information System (GIS) technology. These data were populated in ArcMap 10.5 (a GIS software) for generating maps and data to conduct geospatial analysis. A total of 1 Superfund site and 39 CERCLA sites were identified as contaminated sites for this analysis. The majority of contaminants were heavy metals such as lead, arsenic, mercury, and cadmium. The mean toxic score …

The Impact Of Language And Culture On Productivity: A Recommendation To Implement An Innovative Spanish Language Track, Jordan J. Price

Construction Management

Productivity is a popular focus of construction research because of its efforts to overcome a multitude of project related challenges. This research explores the intersection of language barriers, cultural differences, and productivity in the construction industry with a focus on the impact of bilingual management. It evaluates the impact of these factors on productivity and its beneficial relationship to multilingual management on diverse construction crews. The impending retirement of 40% of the construction labor force calls for proactive initiatives to manage the demographic shift shown by the growing composition of Hispanics in the workforce. The influence of language barriers on …

Covid-19 Vaccine Or Booster Hesitancy Among Children Aged 6 Month-5 Years, 5–11 Years, And 12–17 Years In The United States: An Analytic Cross-Sectional Study, Chulwoo Park, Pyramida Vagoyan Zabala, Airi Irene Trisnadi

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

With the increased accessibility of COVID-19 vaccine, many households have had concerns when vaccinating children, leading to vaccine hesitancy. This study examined the COVID-19 vaccine and booster hesitancy among children aged 6 months-5 years, 5–11 years, and 12–17 years in the United States. We analyzed data from Phase 3.8 (March 1, 2023 to May 8, 2023) of the Household Pulse Survey (HPS) collected by the U.S. Census Bureau. We conducted survey-weighted multiple logistic regression models in vaccine hesitancy among respondents with children from those three different age groups, controlling for various demographic factors such as COVID-19 vaccination status, COVID-19 …

Investigative Approaches: Lessons Learned From The Radonda Vaught Case, Kimberly N. Williams, Crystal M. Fausett, Elizabeth H. Lazzara, Yuval Bitan, Anthony Andre, Joseph R. Keebler

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Accidental patient harms occur frequently in healthcare, but their exact prevalence and interventions that will best prevent them are still poorly understood. In rare cases, healthcare providers who have contributed to accidental patient harm may be criminally prosecuted to obtain justice for the patient and family or to set an example, which theoretically prevents other providers from making similar mistakes due to fear of punishment. A recent case where this strategy was chosen is the RaDonda L. Vaught vs. Tennessee (2022) criminal case. The present article discusses this case and its ramifications, as well as provides concrete recommendations for actions …

Identifying Trauma Related Predictors Of Dissociation In Maltreated Youth, Amanda L. Mraz

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Maltreated youth who experience traumatic dissociation are at an increased risk for various psychopathological difficulties. Much is still unknown about the machinations behind experiences of dissociation post-trauma. This study aimed to identify variables that place maltreated youth at risk for experiencing traumatic dissociation (e.g., dissociative amnesia, absorption and imaginative involvement, passive influence, depersonalization and derealization, and total adolescent dissociative experiences symptoms (A-DES)). Investigatory variables included demographic (e.g., age, gender, and racial identity), cognitive (e.g., resiliency and posttraumatic cognitions), and psychological (e.g., posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms (PTSD) and anxiety) factors. Classification and regression tree (CART) analysis was utilized to observe the …

Examining Emotion Regulation Strategies As Predictors Of Posttraumatic And Depressive Symptomatology In Maltreated Youth, Kinsey Ellis

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Youth with a history of maltreatment victimization are at heightened risk for developing symptoms of posttraumatic stress and depression. Recent work has identified emotion dysregulation as a potential transdiagnostic mechanism linking maltreatment victimization to youth psychopathology, but few studies have examined the influence of specific emotion regulation strategies. Habitual utilization of expressive suppression and cognitive reappraisal have each demonstrated associations with trauma-related psychopathology in adults. The present study examined both strategies as predictors of posttraumatic and depressive symptomatology in youth with a history of maltreatment, as well as mediators in the relationship between the two conditions.

The sample included 133 …

Development Of Cultural Familiarity Influences Musical Tempo, Jared W. Leslie

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Listeners perceive foreign speech as faster than native speech, even when there is no measurable difference in the speech rate. The mechanisms underlying this “Foreign Language Effect” are currently unknown, but one explanation is that as listeners acquire increasingly language-specific experience, they are able to parse the speech stimulus at increasingly slower levels of language structure (i.e., sentences or phrases rather than just syllables). This ability presumably gives riseto the perception that native speech is slower. Because music also has a hierarchical temporal structure, a similar phenomenon may also exist for tempo perception of culturally familiar and unfamiliar music. To …

Examining Oppressive Social Systems: Activism, Academics And Alpha Males, Kristin Dee Vierra

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Oppressive social systems are structures and institutions within society that systematically and unjustly restrict the rights, opportunities, and overall well-being of certain groups (Bonilla-Silva, 1997; Feagin, 2013). The current program of research aims to investigate how oppressive social systems impact individuals and explore strategies to address and counteract them. The first paper seeks to understand whether, why, and how people engage in critical action to support Black Lives Matter (BLM). The second paper examines undergraduates' perceptions of whether STEM research mentors should consider race when mentoring students from marginalized backgrounds. The final paper employs a meta-synthesis with the purpose of …