Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Inside Unlv, Gian Galassi, Carol C. Harter, Gene Hall

Inside UNLV

No abstract provided.

Inside Unlv, Kevin Force, Gian Galassi, Carol C. Harter, Stuart Mann

Inside UNLV

No abstract provided.

Risk Of Radiation Exposure From The Transportation Of High-Level Nuclear Waste, Lawrence Banks

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Transportation of high-level nuclear waste poses a potential risk of exposure from radiation to people of Las Vegas and the surrounding environment. 77,000 metric tons of waste is scheduled to start arriving at Yucca Mountain in 2010. For 24 years legal weight trucks will transport high-level nuclear waste through 109 cities with populations over 100,000. The population of Las Vegas is over 400,000 people. In all, legal weight trucks will cross 43 states traveling millions of highway miles (see appendix B). The U. S. Department of Energy estimates expected radiological risk from accidents would be no higher than 0.003 latent …

Nevada "Nurselessness": An Acute Or Chronic Condition? An Examination Of The Etiology And Possible Treatment Alternatives, Jeanine Warren-Newmon

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Data released by the Department of Health and Human Services in February, 2001, revealed that Nevada has the lowest number of registered nurses per 100,000 population in the nation. The state’s population is growing faster than the nursing programs are currently able to produce new graduates. Current predictions are that the existing nursing shortage will become more severe and have a longer duration than has ever before been experienced. While there may not be one single identifiable causative factor, the aging nursing workforce, low unemployment, and the universal nature of the shortage magnify the problem. This paper focuses on the …

Is It Time For Unlv To Reform Its Classified Personnel System?, John H. Mueller

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a fast growing institution and is the largest public university in Nevada. However, it cannot create its own rules for the administration of its classified personnel system. Many large public universities possess this ability and function independently. This is in direct contrast to the traditional role of other state agencies and the administration of civil service rules for their classified personnel. This paper addresses the prevalence of independent classified personnel systems in public universities and presents a review of current movements in that direction. The paper also presents a case study of …

Vulnerability Assessment And Mitigation Planning In Clark County, Nevada: The Challenges Of Policy Implementation In The Intergovernmental Arena, Angelina L. Evans

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

As a result of recent federal legislation, Clark County, Nevada has been charged with conducting a comprehensive vulnerability assessment and implementing a hazard mitigation policy. This research paper identifies the challenges of intergovernmental relations and policy implementation, defines the mitigation and assessment process, and describes the steps taken by Clark County to date. Definition of the legislation, emergency management, and terms relating to the process are provided. Findings reveal that the attempt to implement a federal program in an intergovernmental arena meet predicted challenges and describes how these challenges have affected Clark County’s ability to successfully implement policy.

Consumptive Water Use At The Mirage Hotel And The Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino In Las Vegas, Nevada, Johann A. Feller

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Las Vegas Valley is one of the driest regions in the southwest United States. Due to limited water supplies from the Colorado River, rainfall, and groundwater sources, the water requirements of the valley’s growing population is slated to surpass the current available water supply. The purpose of this comparative study is to quantify the amount of consumptive water used at a major Las Vegas resort/casino in one year. This, being of importance, because of the resort/casino industry’s role as one of the largest, most visible, and most resource intensive industries in the Las Vegas valley. The goal of this …

Third Stage E-Government And County Employees: A Case Study Of The Clark County Business License Department, Benjamin B. Bond Iii

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study presents the results of research designed to evaluate attitudes of county-level employees who are working within government departments that have undertaken electronic government (e-government) initiatives. Specifically, the guiding question addressed throughout this study has been: “How do county employees perceive third stage e-government initiatives?” Additionally, this paper will examine multiple factors that have been identified as key components of slowing the implementation process such as: resistance to technology, insufficient participation of employees in e-government development initiatives and management/ employee interaction in regard to e-government implementation. This paper is based on research gathered using a self-administered survey of thirty …

Inside Unlv, Gian Galassi, Richard Morgan, Carol C. Harter

Inside UNLV

No abstract provided.

The Economic Impact Of The Adult Dance Establishments On The Community, Christina Henry

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The study attempts to answer some fundamental questions about the adult dance establishments. That is, whether the adult dance establishments add or subtract to the well being of the community. In order to accomplish this it is necessary to determine the benefits and costs of the adult dance establishments on the community and more specifically find out if benefits outweigh the costs. In this study it was decided to make use of the readily available information from the government agencies. The government collects license fees and property taxes from these establishments. Based on the analyses it was concluded that the …

A Case For Choice In Education, Edward Tyndall

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This is an advocacy that paper outlines a history of the battle for school choice, key court decisions concerning school choice, arguments for and against school choice, alternative measures such as charter schools, and attempts to answer the question of “Should Nevada consider vouchers as a means to improve education?”

Unlv Authors Honored For Publications In 2002, Unlv Lied Library, Harold L. And Judith T. Boyer Reading Room

Faculty Author Receptions

Lists UNLV authors and their publications who were honored at the 2003 UNLV authors reception. Includes cover art.

A Study Of Community College Funding, Patricia Charlton

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Community Colleges are an important segment of the postsecondary education system in the United States. As a direct result of growing financial constraints, couples with increased demands for access, sources of institutional funding has gained increased importance This research seeks to understand the relationships between governance structure and funding. A 50-state study using secondary data was used to examine variations in funding support for community colleges across the fifty states. The research found a significant relationship between funding levels of operating dollars per full-time equivalent and the existence of a local governing board. This analysis illustrated that having a local …

A Safety Analysis Of Roundabouts In The Las Vegas Valley Clark County, Nevada, Michael J. Janssen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This professional paper reviews current research on the safety of modern roundabouts and studies the recent, widespread use of them in the Las Vegas valley of Southern Nevada. A roundabout is a form of intersection control (as opposed to a traffic signal or stop sign) that is common in Europe and Australia. Only recently have they been used significantly in the United States. A safety analysis of roundabouts in the Las Vegas Valley was conducted. The study reviewed accident data and hard copy accident reports, obtained average daily traffic counts, and compared these operational aspects of the roundabouts with intersections …

Unlv Architecture Studies Library: Space Planning – Thoughts After Five Years Of Occupation, Jeanne M. Brown

Library Faculty Research

Each building is unique and generates its own problems and pluses. Here are some problems and pluses with our building, seen from the perspective of a five-year occupation (opened Fall 1997).

Clark County Gis Vulnerability Assessment Project: Looking Ahead, Designing Mitigation, And Managing Uncertainty, David M. Hassenzahl

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Research

After reviewing the progress of the Clark County GIS Vulnerability Project to date, it appears to me that now is an appropriate time to look to the end of the project, and use that to shape the next several steps. The NOAA guidelines may still have use, but it is more important that the project make progress than that it meet particular prescriptive steps.

Inside Unlv, Gian Galassi, Jennifer Vaughan, Carol C. Harter, Carolyn Sabo

Inside UNLV

No abstract provided.

Bryson’S Dictionary Of Troublesome Words, Priscilla Finley

Library Faculty Research

Travel writer and humorist Bryson has revised, adapted, and updated his style guide, first published in 1984 in Britain as Penguin Dictionary of Troublesome Words and in the US as Facts on File Dictionary of Troublesome Words, to appeal to contemporary American book buyers. Presenting itself as a "compilation of suggestions, observations, and treasured prejudices," the work compiles and comments on commonly misspelled words and proper nouns and other conundrums of usage scrupulous writers or copy editors may face.

Developing A Chat Reference Training Program, J. Cory Tucker

Library Faculty Research

In the last few years, chat reference services have been implemented by public, college and university libraries. One important aspect of the chat reference service is library staff training. Literature shows that this is a vital step in offering a chat reference service. Library staff need to be well-trained in areas of chatting, reference interviewing in a digital environment and using electronic resources, such as the Internet and databases. This article discusses the chat reference training program at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The following text provides an outline for establishing a chat training program including planning, organization, implementation …

Assessment Of Potential Environmental Impacts Of Nature-Based Tours Originating Within Clark County, Nevada, Beth Domowicz

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this thesis was to assess the potential magnitude of negative environmental damage of nature-based tours originating in Clark County, Nevada. An ordinal ranking system was used for assessment of five variables. These variables were resource use, noise pollution, soil degradation, vegetation degradation, and wildlife disturbance. There were two proposed answers. The first was that as distance increased, negative tour impact would increase. This was not supported, since tours had high impacts for destinations that were close by and far away. The second was that most tours were not causing high damage to the environment. This hypothesis was …

Computer Aided Dispatch Technology: A Study Of The Evolution And Expectations Of Cad And A Comparative Survey Of Cad In The U. S. Fire Service And The Clark County Fire Department., Kenneth E. Morgan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Dispatchers are the first link to assistance in the event of an emergency. Dispatchers must remain calm and gather information from terrified individuals, sort and extract the pertinent information, then relay that information to the responders. Effective dispatching is one of the most important functions of any public service agency (Christen 1991). This paper takes a look at the history and development of Computer Aided Dispatching (CAD). It will explain the various components of a fully functional state of the art CAD system and how each component affects the efficiency of emergency operations. Has computer aided dispatching made an impact …

It Takes A Village To Manage The 21st Century Reference Department, P. S. Mcmillen, L. Rielly

Library Faculty Research

Reference services at Oregon State University's Valley Library have undergone several reorganizations in response to institutional changes, shifting service needs and patron demands. Part of this history includes training for and functioning in team-based management. We have now evolved to a management model that utilizes workgroups and an advisory and coordinating council to assist in running the department. We find this model provides flexibility, sharing of the workload and professional development opportunities, all of which are essential in today's tumultuous reference environment. We will describe the functioning, potential hazards and multiple advantages of this model.

Clark County Pre-Disaster Mitigation Project: Suggestions For Project Initiation, David M. Hassenzahl

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Research

Attention to several organizational issues will facilitate the efforts of the Clark County regional Pre-Disaster Mitigation project. Key considerations include defining terms efficiently, establishing and maintaining a clear timeline, determining rules for acceptability of new information, determining the nature and boundaries of concerns to be addressed, evaluating a full range of mitigation options, considering how to manage uncertainty, and ensuring stakeholder buy-in and participation. The NOAA seven-step process should serve as an operational template. Project participants should anticipate substantial uncertainty, and consider probabilistic methods (e.g. Monte Carlo analysis) for coping with uncertainty within a GIS framework.

Perspectives On Economic Analyses For High Level Waste Disposal, Helen R. Neill, Robert H. Neill

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Research

There are both internal and external pressures on the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to reduce costs of disposal and still maintain radiation protection to both present and future generations. The question arises whether both of these goals are attainable.

Financing An Adequate Education: A Case Study Of New York, William D. Duncombe, Anna Lukemeyer, John Yinger

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Research

The development of any adequacy based school finance system involves three components, which correspond to the three substantive sections of this paper:

First, a state must select measures of adequacy, either in terms of resources or student performance. Such measures are necessary to identify school districts below the standard. Although these measures can be controversial and difficult to develop, this choice is unavoidable.

Second, a state must estimate the cost of reaching a given performance standard in each district. The cost function approach presented in this study relies on statistical methods to extract from actual data the impact of student …

Inside Unlv, Richard Jensen, Donna Mcaleer, Jennifer Vaughan, Cate Weeks, Carol C. Harter, Jeffrey Koep

Inside UNLV

No abstract provided.

Eric: Overview, P. S. Mcmillen

Library Faculty Research

ERIC ( the Educational Resources Information Center) has provided, for over 35 years, the most extensive access to education related information in the world –currently more than 1.2 million records. Millions of people utilize ERIC’s diverse services and products every day. As Jim Kohlmoos, the president of the National Education Knowledge Industry Association emphasizes, “As the nation works to implement both the No Child Left Behind Act and the recently passed Education Sciences Reform Act, there has never been a greater need for ERIC and its resources.” (http://www.nekia.org/about-nekia.html)

Established in 1966, ERIC is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education …

Racial Profiling And Mandatory Data Collection In Nevada: How Will Law Enforcement Respond?, Gregory M. Roehm

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Selected Nevada law enforcement officers participated in the mandatory collection of traffic stop data in the calendar year 2002. The requirement was a temporary one-year study mandated by the 2001 Nevada Legislature. The primary objective of this paper is to provide insight into the behavioral response of law enforcement with respect to mandatory data collection. Data for this study was obtained from the use of a self-administered mail survey from law enforcement officers from five of the nine Nevada police agencies required to collect traffic stop data. Responses from 399 Nevada law enforcement officers surveyed (A response rate of 65 …

Quality Improvement: Physician Providers, And The Women Health Connection Program, In The Provision Of Breast And Cervical Cancer Screening Services In Nevada., Salome K. Kapella

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Quality Improvement is one of the best solutions to the performance of healthcare services. The purpose of this study is to identify areas that need to be improved in relationship between physician providers and the Women Health Connection Program (WHC) in the provision of breast and cervical cancer screening services in Nevada. An assessment of how physicians view the program, their cooperation with the WHC program, an analysis of areas for improvement and the value of services to WHC clients have been discussed in order to improve the quality of breast and cervical cancer in the state. Comparisons have been …

Charter Schools And Accountability: An Evalution Of Nevada's Charter School Accountability Legislation, Sonya Douglass Horsford

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

America’s public education system has become one of the most hotly debated issues in the country. Poor student performance and failing schools have forced many to identify ways to reform the current system through measures such as school-based management, performancebased incentive programs and opportunities for parental choice. As a result, charter schools have become an increasingly popular alternative to traditional public schools. In addition, there have been many questions surrounding the “autonomy for accountability” tradeoff characteristic of the charter school concept. In an effort to contribute to the discussion of charter school accountability and efforts to hold charter schools accountable …