Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Central Americans In Las Vegas, Emily Salazar

Undergraduate Research Symposium Podium Presentations

The Las Vegas Valley has become home to a large Salvadoran and Guatemalan population with no clear understanding of the reason for its growth. Upon arrival to the United States, many Latin American immigrants will often struggle with the language barrier and the lack of resources at their disposal. This study aims to uncover what factors and advantages made the Guatemalan and Salvadoran communities choose to stay in Las Vegas Valley, as well as the contribution these populations have made to this metropolitan area. I will first examine published scholarship that uncovers the reasons on what initiatives made central Americans …

Analyzing The Gender Pay Gap At The University Of Nevada, Las Vegas, Caren Abourjeily, Peter Grema

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

The gender pay gap has been a persistent issue within many professions, including academia. This study examines the gender wage gap within UNLV for the tenured and tenure-track faculty belonging to the College of Liberal Arts, College of Sciences, and the Lee Business School. This study controlled for variables such as department, rank, time, race, and administrative roles in the attempt to find the most accurate gender wage gap possible using 2018 salary data. This study not only examines the gender wage gap within UNLV, but also at UNR. This study compared the two institutions in order to detect whether …

Gender Wage Gap Within Identical Twins, Kazim Julian

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

The gender wage gap is defined as the average difference in pay between men and women who are in the workforce. Congress passed the Equal Pay Act of 1963 which aimed to abolish wage disparity based on sex, yet the differences in wages are still felt today. Using the Oaxaca decomposition, we can illustrate a portion of the gender wage gap can be due to differences in skills, however the remaining unexplained portion can be interpreted as discrimination. It is generally known that union contracted jobs have higher wages and better benefits than non-union jobs, which in contrast should lead …

Overcoming The Overgeneration Of Renewables, Joshua Kaze, Ryan Barnard

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Many states are addressing the issues of climate change, by changing how they produce their energy. The effects of these policies are causing many renewable sources to be underutilized. This paper analyzes how the diversification of energy generation is leading to inefficiencies in the California energy market and the western US market as a whole. The change in curtailment of non-dispatchable renewables is positively correlated with the growth of renewables. Summary statistics and regression analysis show that an increasing portion of renewables is being wasted as the quantity of renewables is increasing. The Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) that California introduced …

“Our Languages Do Not Die, They Are Being Killed”: Indigenismo And Its Effects On Indigenous Language Revitalization, Nathalie Martinez

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Language and identity are political acts that are inextricably linked to and rooted in socio-historical and socio-political events. Existing scholarship on identity-based social movements has yet to address language activism as a part of its theoretical framework. This paper seeks to consider the unique socio-historical context of indigenismo—an ideological wave coordinated by non-Indigenous groups seeking to define Indigenous identity—for the analysis of language activism within the field of social movement theory. Drawing from historical, ethnographic, and applied linguistic studies, this article examines indigenismo in Abiayala—the continental Western hemisphere commonly referred to as the Americas—to highlight the impact of the policies …

Preliminary Analysis Of Periosteal Reaction Of The Tibia In The Erie County Poorhouse Cemetery (1851-1913), Jordan Phillips

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Gender-based occupational differences during the height of the Industrial Revolution are particularly apparent when examining the risk of injury and disease. For Buffalo, NY, this was no exception, as it acted as an urban center that enticed numerous European immigrants seeking employment. This study investigates tibial periosteal reactions by sex and anatomical location from the Erie County Poorhouse Cemetery (1851-1913) to illuminate life in this historic era. The type and extent of reactions were scored, and these criteria were compared by side (e.g., left) and bone segment (e.g., proximal ⅓ of diaphysis) for each individual with tibia(e). Of the 181 …

Covid-19: Higher Education Funding In The Mountain West, Olivia K. Cheche, Peter Grema, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Higher Education

In February 2021, Victoria Jackson and Matt Saenz of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities published a report titled, “States Can Choose Better Path for Funding Higher Education Funding in COVID-19 Recession.” The report presents data on changes in state spending for higher education, and tuition costs for all 50 states between 2008 and 2019. This fact sheet explores data on higher education budget cuts and changing tuition costs for four-year institutions and community colleges in the Mountain West (Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah).

Assessing Large-Scale Digitization Using Web Analytics, Emily Lapworth

Library Faculty Research

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to assess the use of digital collections created via the large-scale digitization of archival collections. The large-scale digitization method specifically examined is the reuse of archival description from finding aids to create digital collections that consist mainly of compound digital objects, equivalent to a folder of items, minimally described at the aggregate level. This article compares web analytics data for two large-scale digital collections and one digital collection with rich, item-level description.

Design/methodology/approach: This study analyzed one year of web analytics for three digital collections. The main research question of this study is: …

Rocks Roll Downhill: The Role Of The Supervisor In Creating And Maintaining A Healthy Workplace, Amy Tureen

Library Faculty Presentations

The Impact of Stress

◍ Stress has psychological effects
◍ Stress has physiological effects
◍ There are numerous long term side effects from stress
◍ 60%-90% of visits to the doctor may be prompted by stress-related complaints

It’s Getting Worse, Not Better
◍ 2013: 33% report feeling extreme stress & 48% report feeling their overall stress levels had increased in the past 5 years
◍ 2017: 61% report they felt exhausted and 85% report feeling run down and drained
◍ 2019: 90% of respondents reported feeling behind despite high stress levels

...And Then Came COVID-19
The pandemic has triggered an …

Nevada Population Density Maps, 2015 - 2019, Jaewon Lim, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Demography

This fact sheet reports the population distribution for the 687 census tracts in the State of Nevada between 2015 and 2019. Mapping population distribution by census tract can misrepresent population density. Oftentimes, in rural regions with low population density, large census tracts are home to a small number of people. Likewise, urban cores have many small census tracts, each with high population density. Using a method for constructing density-equalizing projections, or cartograms (i.e. maps that show statistical information in diagrammatic form) by Mark Newman and Michael Gastner at the University of Michigan, the constructed maps in this fact sheet better …

Municipal Equality Index (Mei) For Nevada Cities And Municipalities, Kristian Thymianos, Elia Del Carmen Solano-Patricio, Saha Salahi, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Cities & Metros

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and Equality Federation Institute compiled a 2020 Municipal Equality Index (MEI) that creates a scorecard measuring inclusivity and livability for members of Lesbian Gay Bisexual Trans Queer Intersex and Asexual (LGBTQIA+) communities who live and work in major U.S. cities and municipalities. For the purposes of this fact sheet, data for 10 Nevada municipalities are examined and ranked.

The Housing Market And The Covid-19 Pandemic: Implications For Las Vegas, Phoenix, Riverside, Los Angeles, Orlando, And New Orleans, Jenny Schuetz, Sarah Crump

Policy Briefs and Reports

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted virtually every part of the U.S. economy in the past year, and wreaked havoc on people’s daily lives. Housing markets are no exception. Millions of renters have fallen behind on their rent, fearing eviction while accumulating debts they cannot pay. At the same time, prices for owner-occupied housing have soared while the inventory of for-sale homes has plummeted. In this brief, we analyze several measures of housing distress from 2007 to 2019 for six metro areas, chosen based on their housing and labor market characteristics. Los Angeles, Riverside, Las Vegas, and Phoenix were among the …

Development And Validation Of A Measure Of Birth-Related Ptsd For Fathers And Birth Partners: The City Birth Trauma Scale (Partner Version), Rebecca Webb, Ann M. Smith, Susan Ayers, Daniel B. Wright, Alexandra Thornton

Educational Psychology, Leadership, and Higher Education Faculty Research

Research suggests that some fathers and birth partners can experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after witnessing a traumatic birth. Birth-related PTSD may impact on many aspects of fathers’ and birth partners’ life, including relationship breakdown, self-blame and reducing plans for future children. Despite the potential impact on birth partners’ lives there is currently no measure of birth-related PTSD validated for use with birth partners. The current study therefore adapted the City Birth Trauma Scale for use with birth partners. The City Birth Trauma Scale (Partner version) is a 29-item questionnaire developed to measure birth-related PTSD according to DSM-5 criteria: stressor …

Motivational Interviewing Use By Personal Trainers To Promote Behavioral Change, Marzell Gray, Jade Hipp

Topics in Exercise Science and Kinesiology

Topics in Exercise Science and Kinesiology Volume 2: Issue 1, Article 5, 2021. This study evaluated one method of behavioral change to promote a healthier way of life. Designed to provide basic motivational interviewing (MI) knowledge and skills to certified personal fitness trainers, the study looked to improve coaching skills to aid in client’s ability to adapt to healthier behaviors. As outlined in a study by Kelley et al., (2016), MI is used as a client-centered approach that includes several core principles to express empathy, support the client’s self-efficacy, roll with resistance, and develop discrepancy.

Growing Biodiverse Urban Futures: Renaturalization And Rewilding As Strategies To Strengthen Urban Resilience, Steffen Lehmann

Architecture Faculty Research

How are our cities using nature-based solutions to confront the challenges posed by a warming climate, the loss of biodiversity and major resource depletion? This article discusses the opportunities and benefits of applying the concepts of regreening and rewilding of cities. The article engages with key sources and summarizes the background and development of regreening and nature-based solutions and important policies, concerns and perspectives of international and national organizations. It introduces the integration of nature-based solutions (NBS) as a strategy in urban planning with the aim to strengthen urban resilience and to slow down the biodiversity decline. Rewilding areas in …

Nurturing Care Indicators For The Brazilian Early Childhood Friendly Municipal Index (Imapi), Gabriela Buccini, Jéssica Pedroso, Stefanie Coelho, Gabriel Ferreira De Castro, Juracy Bertoldo, Alberto Sironi, Joao Gondim, Sonia Isoyama Venancio, Rafael Perez-Escamilla, Marcos Ennes Barreto, Muriel Bauermann Gubert

Social and Behavioral Health Faculty Research

The Nurturing Care Framework (NCF) calls for establishing a global monitoring and accountability systems for early childhood development (ECD). Major gaps to build low-cost and large-scale ECD monitoring systems at the local level remain. In this manuscript, we describe the process of selecting nurturing care indicators at the municipal level from existing routine information systems to develop the Brazilian Early Childhood Friendly Index (IMAPI). Three methodological steps developed through a participatory decision-making process were followed. First, a literature review identified potential indicators to translate the NCF domains. Four technical panels composed of stakeholders from federal, state and municipal levels were …

Immortal Celebrities: Tourism In Hollywood Cemeteries, Marta Soligo

Far West Popular Culture Association Annual Conference

This research is a critical study of tourism at four cemeteries in the Los Angeles area between 2013 and 2019. We examined these venues through the lens of celebrity tourism, since they are known as “Hollywood memorial parks,” hosting the graves of some of the most famous stars in the world. Through a qualitative study, we aimed to understand how the relationship between these venues and the entertainment industry works as a “pull factor” for tourists. Firstly, we identified the motivations behind the increasing number of tourists who add Los Angeles cemeteries to their must-see list. Although scholars often define …

Short-Term Institutions, Analyst Recommendations, And Mispricing: The Role Of Higher Order Beliefs, Martijn Cremers, Ankur Pareek, Zacharias Sautner

Department of Finance Faculty Research

We document that stocks that have optimistic (pessimistic) consensus recommendations and are currently held by many short-term institutions exhibit large stock-return reversals: Their large past outperformance (underperformance) is followed by large negative (positive) future alphas. The predictable return reversals originate from overreaction to past recommendation releases and the correction of these overreactions around future releases. Results are stronger when earnings news is released and at firms with higher fundamental uncertainty. Further, firms with more short-term institutions show stronger announcement returns and price drift after recommendation changes. Our results are consistent with models of higher order beliefs where short-term institutions coordinate …

Asian Americans Experience Microassaults During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Aaron Cheng, Brooklyn King, Aldo Barrita, Anthony King, Gloria Wong-Padoongpatt

Spectra Undergraduate Research Journal

Microaggressions are typically brief and common behavioral/verbal indignities that communicate a sense of hostility, derogatory, or negative perception towards a targeted group. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we observed an increase in the amount of microassaults, a more intentional type of microaggression, towards the Asian American population. In our study, we used a two-way 2x2 (Race: Asian Americans vs. White Americans; Time: before vs. during COVID-19) analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) with repeated measures on one factor (Time) to determine whether there was a statistical significance between race in the experiences of microassaults before and during COVID-19. We used a self-report survey …

A Critical Analysis Of The Body Positive Movement On Instagram: How Does It Really Impact Body Image?, Ayla S. Gelsinger

Spectra Undergraduate Research Journal

Instagram, a photo based social networking site, is one of the most popular forms of social media. The Body Positive Movement campaign surfaced on Instagram in 2012 and aimed to confront the unrealistic expectations and unrepresentative portrayals of women in popular media and advertising. The present study aimed to analyze whether posts that were tagged #bodypositive or #bodypositivity upheld the initial goals of the movement by taking note of the characteristics (including race, sex, gender, and body type) of people that were featured in the top posts of the #bodypositive or #bodypositivity tags. Resultant fieldnotes were coded into the following …

Differences In Ethnic And Sport Culture Salience Among College Students Participating In Ncaa And Recreational Sports, Mirella S. Jasso, Paul Nelson, Bradley Donohue, Michelle Strong, Joanna Kepka, Daniel N. Allen

Spectra Undergraduate Research Journal

This study aims to (1) examine differences between Ethnic Majority (European American) and Ethnic Minority (African American, Latina/o, Asian/Asian American, Pacific Islander, and Other) student athletes’ ratings of importance of their Ethnic Culture, (2) examine differences in the importance of Sport Culture among NCAA and Recreational (i.e., Club and Intramural) student athletes, and (3) determine if Ethnic Identification and Athlete Type interact to predict the importance of Ethnic Culture and Sport Culture. Student athletes were asked to fill out a demographic questionnaire, and then rate the importance of several cultural domains (i.e. Ethnic Culture and Sport Culture) using a novel …

The Effects Of Renewable Portfolio Standards And The Deregulation Of Energy Markets On Electricity Prices, Amani Chaar

Spectra Undergraduate Research Journal

Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) are public policies put into effect to help alleviate the harmful consequences of air pollution. Every state has a unique form of standards corresponding to their natural resources. More states have implemented the policy to increase the generation of renewable energy; however, many stand opposed to the policy in fear that it will increase electricity prices. The influence that RPS has on the price of electricity is not entirely understood. Previous literature confirms that RPS, on average, increases prices by three percent. This paper focuses on analyzing the effect of RPS on electricity rates over a …

Sacrifice For The Mandate Of Heaven? Regression Discontinuity Of Death Penalty Execution In Taiwan, Austin Horng En Wang, Yuan Ning Chu, Fang Yu Chen, Ming Jui Yeh

Political Science Faculty Research

© 2021 Western Social Science Association. The death penalty enjoys overwhelmingly cross-partisan support among Taiwanese citizens. Politicians, mass media actors, and anti-death-penalty activists all believe that death penalty executions boost the president’s approval. As a result, Taiwanese presidents are motivated to strategically execute prisoners, trying to improve their approval rate. To examine this myth, we exploit data from a nationally representative survey conducted in 2012; six inmates were unexpectedly executed during the survey period. This unique opportunity enables us to examine the causal relationship between implementing a welcoming policy and its effect on public opinion. Contrary to popular belief, however, …

What Happens Here? Educating Las Vegas’S Guests During Covid-19, Marta Soligo

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

When, in 2003, the Las Vegas Visitors and Convention Authority (LVCVA) launched the tag line “What happens here, stays here,” it reinforced the idea, already supported by the media, that in Sin City everything is allowed. Looking at the COVID-19 crisis, one might wonder how, after being seen for years as a place without restrictions, Las Vegas could convince its tourists to respect some rigid safety guidelines. This paper tries to answer that question starting from the framework of the host-guest relationship, which is widely used in anthropology and sociology of tourism. On the one hand, I state that short-time …

Clean Energy Scorecard For Mountain West Cities, 2020, Eshaan Vakil, Olivia K. Cheche, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Environment

As climate change continues to affect the Mountain West, many cities are taking measures to reduce carbon emissions and dependence on fossil fuels. This fact sheet reports the rankings of Mountain West municipal governments, based on efforts to improve energy efficiency and increase their utilization of clean energy. The rankings are collected from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy’s (ACEEE) “2020 City Clean Energy Scorecard.”

Zoonotic Diseases: New Directions In Human–Animal Pathology, Robin Bendrey, Debra Martin

Anthropology Faculty Research

Zoonotic diseases—human diseases of animal origin—represent one of the world's greatest health challenges, both today and in the past. Since the Neolithic, zoonotic diseases have been one of the major factors shaping and influencing human adaptation. Archaeology is ideally situated to provide the long view on human–animal–pathogen relationships through combining cultural, environmental and biological datasets, yet long-term studies of linked human and animal records have often been overlooked and undertheorized. The seven papers in this special issue “Zoonotic diseases: New directions in human–animal pathology” cover a range of diseases caused by bacterial, viral, and parasitic pathogens, from case studies drawn …

Assessing The Psychological Impact Of Covid-19 Among College Students: An Evidence Of 15 Countries, Kavita Batra, Manoj Sharma, Ravi Batra, Tejinder P. Singh, Nena Schvaneveldt

School of Medicine Faculty Research

Mental health issues among college students is a leading public health concern, which seems to have been exacerbating during the COVID-19 pandemic. While previous estimates related to psychological burden among college students are available, quantitative synthesis of available data still needs to be performed. Therefore, this meta-analysis endeavors to present collective evidence discussing the psychological impact of COVID-19 among college students. Bibliographical library databases, including Embase, Medline, CINAHL, Scopus, and PsycINFO, were systematically searched for relevant studies. Titles, abstracts, and full articles were screened, and two reviewers extracted data. Heterogeneity was assessed by I-2 statistic. The random-effects model was utilized …

Child Care Costs In The Mountain West, Saha Salahi, Kristian Thymianos, William E. Brown Jr., Caitlin J. Saladino

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet examines the cost of child care using data from the Care Index, a collaboration between New America, Care.com, and other organizations. Data for the Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah are included in this document.

Covid-19 And Its Implications For Women In Gaming: Move Towards Regulation, Policies, And Culture Changes In The United States, Shekinah Hoffman, Itzel Alanis

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

COVID-19 exposes structural inequalities within American society which can no longer be ignored. Here, we highlight the structural inequalities women and women of color face that are glaringly apparent or exacerbated in the pandemic. Inequalities that play a role in the unemployment, insufficient workplace protection, and increased work-life demands of women and women of color in the gaming industry. Instead of returning to “normal” business post-pandemic, we urge gaming leaders to reflect on these inequities within their workplaces. We offer that guaranteed paid leave and permanent flexible work arrangements could improve the life of gaming women employees and their families.

Environmentally Marginalized Populations: The "Perfect Storm" For Infectious Disease Pandemics, Including Covid-19, Gabriella Y. Meltzer, Oyemwenosa Avenbuan, Christina Awada, Oluwakemi B. Oyetade, Tricia Blackman, Simona Kwon Drph, Mph, Esther Erdei Phd, Judith T. Zelikoff Phd

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

COVID-19 has exacted a severe toll on the United States population’s physical and mental health and its effects have been felt most severely among people of color and low socioeconomic status. Using illustrative case studies, this commentary argues that in addition to COVID-19 health disparities created by psychosocial stressors such as the inability to socially distance and access quality healthcare, environmental justice communities have the additional burden of disproportionate exposure to toxic contaminants that contribute to their higher risk of COVID-19. Environmental contaminants including heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants found contaminating their nearby environments can alter the immune response, …