Digital Commons Network^™

Feasibility And Acceptability Of Tap Dance As A Therapeutic Intervention For Adults With Lower Limb Amputation: A Pilot Study, Julianne Roser, Allison Strande, Bailey Taggart

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and potential efficacy of an 8-week adapted tap dance program as a therapeutic intervention for individuals with lower limb amputation (LLA).

Methods

Three participants with LLA (two with unilateral transfemoral amputation and one with bilateral transtibial amputations) attended weekly 1-hour tap dance classes, with movements adapted for their needs and mobility aids and dance barres available as needed. The Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES) and participant feedback assessed acceptability. Functional mobility, balance and quality of life were measured using the Activities-Specific Balance Confidence (ABC) scale, Timed Up-and-Go (TUG), Berg Balance Scale …

Effects Of Altered Somatosensory Input On Gait Kinetics And Kinematics Via Different Footwear In Individuals With Chronic Post-Stroke Hemiparesis, Daniela Casillas, Lesley Ruiz

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Purpose/Hypothesis: Individuals with post-stroke hemiparesis walk with significant asymmetries, leading to slow, effortful walking, and a high risk of falls. One contributing factor is altered sensation on the plantar surface. Studies examining altered somatosensory input via insoles, vibration and other tactile stimuli observed improvements in hemiparesis gait. This study investigates whether altering somatosensory input through different footwear can affect kinetics, kinematics and muscle activity during walking post-stroke. We hypothesized the barefoot conditions would have increased dorsiflexion (heel-strike, swing), increased plantarflexion during toe-off, increased muscle activity and kinetics, compared to memory foam conditions.

Participants: 13 individuals with chronic post-stroke hemiparesis (4F/9M, …

Dry And Wet Deposition Of Atmospheric Microplastics In Las Vegas, Nevada, Laine Adame

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Plastics have been one of the most widely used man-made materials since their inception, and production is expected to grow by five percent every year. Plastic waste has become a growing global environmental issue. Primary MPs are plastics that are created to be intentionally tiny for their specific functional purpose. Secondary microplastics (MPs) are byproducts of plastic waste occurring due to the breakdown of larger plastics resulting in the presence and accumulation of MPs in the environment. MPs are defined as tiny particles of plastic between 5 mm and 1 μm in size. MPs have been found in the deep …

Efficacy Of Dorsal Application Of Kt For Carpal Tunnel Syndrome In Esport Gamers: A Randomized Clinical Trial, Anthony Foreman

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This doctoral study investigated the impact of the dorsal application of kinesiotape on carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) symptoms and performance among Esport gamers. The study was conducted in controlled environments at the UNLV Esports Lounge, Black Fire Innovation, and the Musculoskeletal Lab using a randomized two-group pretest-posttest design. To maintain ecological validity, participants were permitted to use personally owned gaming peripherals (e.g., computer mouse), and all received brief instruction on proper body mechanics to promote consistency during testing. Participants (n = 11) were systematically assigned by order of registration to either an intervention group receiving dorsal application of kinesiotape on …

Terraincraft: Automated Land-Cover–Driven Terrain Generation For Marine Robot Simulations, Xinyue Liang

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

From self-driving cars navigating city streets to all-terrain vehicles tackling rugged landscapes, recent leaps in robotic autonomy due to fast pace development in deep learning are reshaping how machines interact with the real world. However, autonomy in the aquatic environment is still limited, due to difficulty in testing and unavailability of realistic simulation environments.

In this project, we aim to create an automated system that simplifies the processes of creating synthetic datasets for marine robots navigation training tasks. We achieved this through a land cover map controlled terrain generation. Our goal is to provide an automatic terrain generation system that …

Secondary Educators’ Knowledge And Perceptions Of Their Own Self-Efficacy As It Relates To 504 Plan Accommodations For Students Diagnosed With Adhd, Anne Richardson

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This study investigated the role of Section 504 accommodations in meeting the needs of secondary students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in the United States. While legislation requires equitable education for students with disabilities, gaps remain in understanding how educators perceive their own abilities in implementing Section 504 plans for students with ADHD. The study used a qualitative research design to explore the academic and organizational challenges faced by secondary school students with ADHD, specifically examining the knowledge, perceptions, and self-efficacy of secondary educators regarding ADHD strategies and 504 plan accommodations. Semi-structured interviews were conducted via Zoom with 11 educators from …

Effects Of Cytochalasin D On Motor Function In Drosophila, Airyel Noguera

Honors Theses

Actin proteins play an important role in microfilaments, one of the three components of the cytoskeleton of the cell. The actin protein is responsible for cellular functions such as with their role in neuromuscular junctions. The dynamics of these proteins can be further explored with manipulation of polymerization through the treatment of a biochemical drug, Cytochalasin D. This fungal toxin caps the ends of actin filaments, destabilizing them by inhibiting G- and F-actin monomers from binding. Treating Drosophila in their early embryonic stage with this drug after permeabilization can give insights on the importance of actin proteins at neuromuscular junctions …

Effect Of Β-Alanine Supplementation On Inflammation Response And Subsequent Muscle Function Following An Acute Bout Of Resistance Training., David F. Smith

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the effects of β-alanine supplementation on the inflammation response, as measured by Interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels, and subsequent muscle function in resistance-trained individuals following a single bout of resistance exercise.

Methods: Fourteen resistance-trained subjects were recruited for a double-blind, between-group experiment. Following a two-week washout period (if needed), subjects were randomly assigned to receive either 6.8g of β-alanine daily or a placebo. After the supplementation period, subjects performed a standardized exhaustive squat protocol (10 sets of 10 repetitions at 60% of their estimated 1RM). Venous blood samples were collected pre-exercise, 24-hours post, and 72-hours post …

Examining Validity And Reliability Evidence For The Multicultural Neuropsychological Scale (Muns) Party Subtest Scores, Madyson Hernandez

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Neuropsychological tests were developed primarily for Westernized, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD) populations (Henrich, 2020; Fernández & Abe, 2018). According to the American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology (AACN) Relevance 2050 Initiative project, approximately sixty percent of Americans will be deemed unsuitable for neuropsychological testing because test norms are primarily based on European Americans who speak English (AACN, 2015). To aid in effective cross-cultural neuropsychological assessment, The Multicultural Neuropsychological Scale (MUNS; Fernández et al., 2018) was developed to be easily translatable to various languages. The MUNS is a 40-minute neuropsychological test battery that examines cognitive abilities such as reading fluency, …

Characteristics Of Parent-Adolescent Relationships As Predictors Of Adolescents’ Future Emotion Regulation Abilities, Jaclyn H. Snyder

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Adolescence is a critical period for the development of emotion regulation skills and parents play a pivotal role in the shaping of such skills. Indeed, several characteristics of the parent-child relationship have been implicated in adolescents’ emotional development. Namely, parental acceptance of adolescents’ emotions, the quality of parent-child attachment, and the tactics parents utilize to resolve conflict with their child appear to be significant sources of influence. The current study aimed to examine each of these three factors as possible predictors of adolescents’ emotion regulation abilities later in life. Additionally, this study sought to understand the relative strength of these …

Role Of The Pediatric Rdn In Conducting The Pediatric Nutrition Focused Physical Exam: Training, Clinical Practice And Barriers, Sarah M. Kowalewski

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Abstract:

Background: The pediatric nutrition focused physical exam (PNFPE) is important for completing comprehensive assessment in pediatric patients, particularly those at risk for malnutrition. The PNFPE helps to identify the depletion of fat and muscle stores, as well as micronutrient deficiencies.

Methods: Pediatric RDNs, self-identified through CDR and practice group membership, were surveyed-to investigate their training, clinical practice, documentation, and barriers to use of the PNFPE. The survey instrument, validated by content experts and analyzed for reliability, was approved by our university’s IRB.

Results: A total of 65.8% of respondents held a graduate degree and 81.6% held a specialty certification. …

Unheard Voices: A Poetic Inquiry Into The Menace Of Child Abuse In Nigeria, Folajimi Kalejaye

Masters Theses, 2020-current

My project explores poetic inquiry as an arts-based methodology for evocatively representing stories and voices of survivors of child violence in Nigeria from 2013 – 2024. More specifically, I explore poetic inquiry for personal reflection and re/mediation of news stories, editorials, and documentaries that present child violence. Remediation is a practice of representing existing media content through affective forms so as to evoke a deeper meaning and encourage critical reflection of lived experiences. As such, rather than narrating these children's experience from conventional storied standpoints of pain, abuse, trauma, and violence, I poetically interpret their stories to amplify children's voices …

Collisions: The Enlivened Entanglements Of The Object-Self, Grace P. Smith

Masters Theses, 2020-current

This piece is a performance collage centered around objects and our entanglements with them. Through unpacking five objects in my life and their histories and interrogating three interwoven levels of narrative (the historical, the personal, and the aesthetic), I playfully displace the subject/object hierarchy to contribute to broader theoretical discussions regarding the agency of objects, resulting in novel insights through the collisions produced from the performance collage.

Sundown In Indiana: A Midwest Story Of Racism, Exclusion, And Memory, Kelsey A. Snyder

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Sundown towns were a prominent aspect of the northern life from the early 1900s till in some places till the 1970s but they have been lost to history. These towns have been silenced and erased not just from the history books but from public memory. Indiana is my home state and the three towns that will be discussed have all had an impact on my personal development especially in understanding race. Decatur and Huntington places I have called home, both have been classified as sundown towns. The third, Marion was the location of the one the last known lynchings in …

The Voices Of Black Motherscholars: Navigating Academia, Motherhood, And Beyond, Danae Peterson

Masters Theses, 2020-current

The experiences of Black women in academia are shaped by the intersection of multiple, often conflicting identities. As mothers and scholars, Black women navigate the complex terrain of competing responsibilities, societal expectations, and institutional barriers, all while striving to achieve personal and professional aspirations. This daily balancing act is complicated by the compounded effects of racism and sexism in academia, coined as misogynoir (Bailey, 2018). Misogynoir, a specific form of anti-Black racist misogyny, manifests through stereotyping, marginalization, and invisibility affecting Black women’s ability to thrive in academic spaces that were not designed with them in mind (Patton & Njoku, 2019). …

Power Impacts Target Goals And Responses To Racism, Urmi Chatterjee

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Racial microaggressions are harmful to people of color (POC) and inhibit their social functioning in the long term. Explicit forms of racism have been focused on in previous studies on interpersonal racial interactions. While studies have found the effect of confrontation on POC who experience subtle racism, other forms of responses to racism lack research. Are responses influenced by how powerful targets are? What happens when a powerful target experiences subtle racism? This study shows how power shapes the strategies people of color use to respond to subtle racism. We used a negotiation framework between three types of goals and …

Varied Versus Non-Varied Behavior-Specific Praise On Student On-Task Behavior, Jessica Boss

Masters Theses, 2020-current

The current study examined the effects of praise statements on students’ behavior by assessing how varied and non-varied behavior-specific praise statements effect student on-task behavior. An alternating treatment design was used to compare the treatment conditions of varied and non-varied BSP. During baseline, participants were not given feedback on their praise statements or their interactions. After baseline, participants were taught to a mastery criterion on varied and non-varied BSP conditions. In the experimental phase, the participants alternated between a condition providing non-varied BSP and a condition providing varied BSP. The results of this study showed that both varied and non-varied …

Empowering Paraprofessionals Through Behavioral Skills Training: Abc Data Recording, Addison Raso

Masters Theses, 2020-current

This study investigates the efficacy of the behavior skills training (BST) framework in enhancing data collection procedures for paraprofessionals. An add-in component analysis was used to evaluate the effectiveness of individual BST components. Three participants (i.e., Nathan, Molly, Bailey) were assessed across baseline, instruction, modeling, rehearsal, and feedback phases. Nathan showed little improvement, with low and variable performance across phases. Molly demonstrated gradual improvement, achieving high accuracy in the final phase with feedback. Bailey exhibited an initial decline, followed by a steady increase, reaching near-perfect accuracy in the final phase. Data analysis revealed an additive effect with feedback having the …

Adapting A Contingency Contract Across Environments For Interfering Behaviors And Coping Skills, Samantha N. Eckstein

Masters Theses, 2020-current

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of taking an already successful contingency contract for an individual and adapting it to two separate environments to determine the effects on interfering behaviors and the utilization of coping skills. An AB design was utilized to allow for comparison of effects between conditions (i.e., control and treatment). The independent variable was the contingency contract(s) used across all settings and there were three dependent variable measures. These were the effects on interfering behaviors, skills demonstrated, and the utilization of coping skills. There is not enough evidence shown in the data to …

Experimentally Testing A Mechanism Of Urban Adaptation: Are Wild Catbirds Able To Immediately Adjust Their Song In Response To Urban Noise?, Eriberto Osorio

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Anthropogenic noise is loud and low-frequency (low-pitch) sound with frequencies spanning from 1-2.5 kHz in frequency. In noisy urban areas, many birds sing songs with higher minimum frequencies, which can avoid the masking effects of anthropogenic noise. However, the mechanism for an individual to alter spectral aspects of bird song in real time to avoid the masking effect of urban noise is unknown. Immediate flexibility is the ability a bird may use to shifts their song frequency or amplitude in response to noise fluctuations in the environment. Some species that sing higher frequency songs in noisy habitats are not able …

Making Their Voices Heard: Virginia Women's Organizations As Agents Of Community Change From 1945 To 1955, Preston C. Morgan

Masters Theses, 2020-current

After World War II, Virginian women’s organizations experienced increases in membership and in community influence. For the next decade, Virginian women in various non-partisan organizations would take intentional efforts to position women as activists of change, creating and training women for public and civic contributions. Organizational women began to see themselves as having growing responsibility for their community’s wellbeing. This study will analyze this growing grassroots organization movement by examining records from organizations like the Winchester Women’s Civic League, the women’s missionary societies of the First Baptist Church and Salem Lutheran Church, and Madison College. This study will analyze this …

Grief As Slip: (How Little I Show) An Exploration In Clay, When Words Are Not Enough, Michelle A. Smith

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Grief as Slip (how little I show) implies that even as we acknowledge our mortality and the fleeting nature of life, we still only reveal a fraction of our true selves or our deeper realities. The ceramic artwork in this exhibition carries and conveys a journey through the present and remembered emotions of the artists’ personal narrative. By juxtaposing the tactile nature of clay with the ethereal quality of human experience, Smith contemplates the profound interplay between material transformation and emotional resilience. The exhibition’s intent is to translate the essence of complex emotional states into abstracted forms so they can …

Ritual And Revolution: Rethinking Roman Women’S Influence On Religion, Katlin Smith

Masters Theses, 2020-current

This thesis challenges the long-standing portrayal of Roman women as passive figures. Focusing on the mid-to-late Roman Republic and early Empire (264 B.C.E.–180 C.E.), it argues that women were active participants in Roman society, particularly through their engagement in religious life. Drawing on the theory of “lived religion,” this study highlights how religion offered Roman women opportunity to interact with both domestic and public spheres in socially acceptable means. Religion allowed women to exercise influence, power, and autonomy otherwise denied to them in political or legal contexts. Through a combination of textual analysis and material evidence, such as inscriptions and …

Sacral Glitch, Kareena Naresh Solanki

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Growing up in a multifaith environment in Mumbai, I witnessed many religious sites and people with diverse beliefs. My parents always remained open-minded to other faiths, and my house remained replete with idols of deities of different religions. I studied Nichiren Buddhism, particularly the Lotus Sutra, as my mother began practising it along with her faith in Hinduism. Philosophical studies became a part of my life at the age of nine. Catholic prayers turned into rituals in my convent school days, and Islamic prayers resonated from afar. I often reflect on the influence of multiple religions in shaping my approach …

Misidentified Bodies And Missing Data: Exploring Forensic Disempowerment And Skeletal Narratives Of Transgender And Gender-Diverse Individuals In The United States, Taylor M. Flaherty

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The bodies of transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) individuals represent a physical nexus of contempt and scrutiny. In the United States (U.S.), TGD people experience disproportionate levels of violence and premature death, contributing to a persistent epidemic of harm. Institutionalized anti-TGD biases have reinforced systemic neglect, leading to the routine exclusion of TGD individuals from research, data collection, and historical archives. The absence of state or federal initiatives to track mortality trends and risk factors among this population further exacerbates their systematic erasure. In particular, forensic scientists have traditionally relied on dichotomous indicators of sexual expression which may fail to account …

Exploring The Application Of Complexity Theory And Interdisciplinary Study In Clinical Psychology, Iman Motlagh Arani

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study explores the integration of complexity theory and interdisciplinary approaches in clinical psychology education and training. Responding to growing concerns about the fragmentation of knowledge and the limitations of reductionist models in mental health education, this qualitative research investigates how faculty and graduate students conceptualize and engage with complexity, systems thinking, ethics, culture, and curricular innovation. Using semi-structured interviews with clinical psychology professors and students, the study applies thematic analysis grounded in interpretive paradigms and educational philosophy. Findings reveal widespread epistemological fragmentation, varied familiarity with complexity theory, institutional resistance to interdisciplinary integration, and emerging calls for curricular transformation. Participants …

School Leadership’S Impact On Teacher Turnover Post Covid-19, Andrea C. Womack

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This qualitative dissertation involved investigating the pivotal role of school leadership in shaping teacher turnover and support in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was situated within the broader context of educational challenges, where teacher retention remains a critical concern. The pandemic introduced unprecedented disruptions to the education system, underscoring the need to understand how school leadership practices influence teacher retention and support in this new landscape. The COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally transformed the teaching profession, impacting every aspect of educators’ careers as evidenced by responses across the structural, human resource, political, and symbolic frames. Structurally, educators had to …

Reconceptualization Of Corporate Governance For Fintech Firms, Isa Alade

Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review

The scandals involving some major fintech firms/platforms such as FTX, Wirecard, Celsius, TerraLuna and Lending Club raise questions about the efficacy of the current corporate governance architecture for fintech firms. Comparing some of the factors that contributed to these recent scandals in the fintech industry against the weaknesses in the corporate governance arrangements for traditional financial firms in the period leading to the global financial crisis (GFC), this paper argues that the unique characteristics of fintech firms amplify some of the weaknesses in the corporate governance arrangements in the financial services industry that contributed to the GFC. The ubiquitous nature …

The Relationship Between Positive And Negative Experiences With Sport Culture And Psychiatric Symptoms In Collegiate Athletes, Angelos Tsalafos

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Although mental health professionals have indicated their interest in understanding the relationship between sport culture and mental health, this relationship has yet to be examined using psychometrically validated scales. In this study, the Semi-Structured Interview for Consideration of Sport Culture in Therapy Scale (SSICSCTS; see Donohue et al., 2006) was administered to 59 Club and National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) athletes. This scale assesses how athletes experience importance (Sport Culture Importance Scale; SCIS) and negative experiences (Sport Cultural Problems Scale; SCPS) in sport culture. Participants were also assessed for psychiatric symptomology using a well-established scale, i.e., the Symptom Checklist 90-Revised …

On Efficient Position Dependent Computation Of Radiation Near Accretion Disks, Kara Jeanette Smith

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Accretion onto super massive black holes (SMBH) plays a vital role in explaining our observations of active galactic nuclei (AGN). One key aspect of observations of AGN is the prevalence of massive outflows which transport matter and energy away from the galactic core. These outflows are characterized by highly blueshifted absorption lines as radiation from the accretion disk is absorbed by gas which is moving toward us. Radiation pressure on spectral lines is expected to play a vital role in launching and accelerating these winds. At the other end of the spectrum of black hole masses, accretion disks in X-ray …