Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Price Of Democracy: The Revolutionary Power Of Taxation In American History, Vanessa Williamson

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

As part of the Brookings Scholar Lecture Series, Brookings Mountain West presented a lecture titled, "The Price of Democracy: The Revolutionary Power of Taxation in American History" by Brookings senior fellow in governance studies, Vanessa Williamson.

From tariffs to “no tax on tips”, taxation has often been a hot topic in American elections. What is not commonly recognized, however, is that—from the framing of the Constitution to the decades-long backlash to the civil rights movement—taxes have been at the heart of battles over the breadth of our democracy. Brookings senior fellow Vanessa Williamson discusses her new book, The Price of …

From One-Shots To Gems: Building Scaffolded Microcredentials In Information Literacy, Layla Barati, Kevin Sebastian

Library Faculty Research

Discover how UNLV Libraries redesigned first-year information literacy instruction into the GEM Knowledge Series—scaffolded microcourses awarding stackable badges. Learn how this model moves beyond traditional one-off library lessons, embeds assessment, and empowers students to Gather, Evaluate, and Make knowledge across academic, professional, and civic contexts.

Social Media And E-Cigarette Use In Youth: Does Depression Play A Mediating Role?, Soumya Upadhyay, Mohammad Karim, Shivank Chhaya

Healthcare Administration and Policy Faculty Research

About 28% of middle and high school students report the use of e-cigarettes per the 2019 NYTS survey. Social media can seclude a youth into limited set of beliefs, including affirmation for e-cigarette use. Internalizing problems like depression may be due to overuse of social media, and youth with depressive symptoms are more likely to use e-cigarettes to cope. National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) 2023 data was used (n = 18 143) in a cross-sectional design. Ever e-cigarette use was the binary (Y/N) dependent variable. Independent variable, social media use, was categorized as “never,” “nondaily,” “daily.” Mediator variable, presence of …

Violent And Property Crime In The Mountain West, 2024-2025, Sydney Mitchell, Kian Parikh, Kristian Thymianos, Olivia K. Cheche, William E. Brown Jr.

Criminal Justice

This fact sheet presents 2024-2025 violent and property crime data for the Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. Crime data are sourced from the Real-Time Crime Index (RTCI) created by AH Datalytics. The RTCI table, “Reported UCR Part One Crimes Year to Date” compares violent and property crime rates during the time frames of January-October 2024 and January-October 2025 for states across the U.S. This fact sheet highlights the violent and property crime rates in each Mountain West state and considers how these data have changed between January-October 2024 and January-October 2025.

The State Of Mental Health In The Mountain West, 2025, Cason Noll, Anirudh Polagani, Taylor Volk, Olivia K. Cheche, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Health

This fact sheet presents data on the mental health of youth and adults, as well as the availability of mental health care, across the five Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah in 2025. The data are derived from "The State of Mental Health in America 2025,” originally published by Mental Health America (MHA).

Child Care Costs In The Mountain West, 2025, Cason Noll, Isabelle G. Graham, Mohit Pande, Olivia K. Cheche, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet reports child care affordability and cost data for the five Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) report, “Child care costs in the United States,” highlights data on the differences in child care affordability across the United States. This fact sheet presents data on the percentage of annual income required to afford infant care for a minimum-wage worker, a typical child care worker, and a median family with children based on state-level income data for each Mountain West state. This fact sheet also reports annual costs, including college, …

The Rise Of The Global Middle Class, Homi Kharas

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

As part of the Brookings Scholar Lecture Series, Brookings Mountain West presented a lecture titled, "The Rise of the Global Middle Class" by Brookings senior fellow in global economy and development, Homi Kharas.

For the last two hundred years, ever since the start of the Industrial Revolution, the most successful economies in the world have developed large, stable middle classes. With globalization, the expansion of the middle class has accelerated to a historically unprecedented speed. But global consumerism is scaling faster than the adaptation of institutions, ecosystems, and social norms. Brookings senior fellow Homi Kharas discusses his most recent book, …

Abortions In The Mountain West, 2022-2025, Olivia K. Cheche, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Health

This fact sheet presents data on the number of abortions provided annually in the Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah between July 2022 and June 2025. The data are retrieved from the Society of Family Planning’s #WeCount report,  which includes data on abortion volume across all 50 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. This fact sheet focuses on the administration of both in-person and telehealth abortions in the Mountain West.

Cash Or Crash: Return To Player Percentages And Expected Value Of Crash Games, Robert H. Scott Iii, Mikhail M. Sher, Jonathan Daigle

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

Crash games are a new type of casino game offered on some online gambling sites. The first crash game was created by the online cryptocurrency casino Bustabit. Other cryptocurrency casinos started offering their own versions of crash games. Now mainstream online casinos have developed their own crash games—notably Rocket by DraftKings. Crash games are easy to learn and play. They offer the opportunity to increase your bet by many hundreds of multiples—though, as we show when deriving expected values, these outcomes are rare. In this paper, we study the history of crash games and calculate theoretical values of crash game …

Public Education Rankings In The Mountain West, 2025, Anthony Arroyo, Yiselle Olivas Ruiz, Olivia K. Cheche, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

K-12 Education

This fact sheet reports 2025 public education rankings for the Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. The Consumer Affairs report, “Best States for Public Education 2025,” ranks all 50 U.S. states across four categories: K-12 performance, school funding and resources, higher education quality, and school safety. This fact sheet also highlights the change in each Mountain West state’s overall ranking between 2024 and 2025.

Paywall Payout: A Three Year Review Of The Soml Open Article Fund, Aidy Weeks

Library Faculty Research

In 2022, the School of Medicine Library launched the Open Article Fund as a way to support faculty, residents, and fellows with their scholarly activities when submitting open access publications that would otherwise be ineligible for funding through the University Libraries fund which limited recipients to tenure-track faculty. After feedback from the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine Office of Research, The pilot fund was structured after the University Libraries funds with some modifications including awarding $2,000 instead of $1500 towards a publication, allowing for publications in hybrid journals, and requiring multi-author team submissions. The fund was initially supported by $30,000 …

Cultivating The Creative Ecosystem Amid The Disruption Of Ai, Sarah Oconnell

Tradition Innovations in Arts, Design, and Media Higher Education

Can humanity’s creativity, our artistic intelligence, thrive in symbiosis with the disruptive forces of technology’s Artificial Intelligence in work, media and education? “Who is responsible?” may be the more important question as we face a future infused with AI. Impacted individuals and industries cannot wait for ambiguous political powers to determine AI regulatory policy. They must develop strategies for critique and discernment in real time to prevent the technology’s disruption in society from devolving into oppressive dysfunction.

Who is responsible for cultivating the balance that sustains humanity? Scholars and practitioners with artistic intelligence are adaptive catalysts for collaborative problem solving …

Examining The Impact Of Racial Microaggressions And Psychological Distress In Latine Individuals: A Focus On Ptsd, Anxiety, Depression, And Stress, Melanie Garcia, Yajairy Cabrales, Miguel A. Castano, Richard Chang, Gloria Wong-Padoongpatt

Spectra Undergraduate Research Journal

Latine individuals in the United States face distinct mental health challenges due to unique stressors, including systemic racism and discrimination. While research has established that racial microaggressions—such as daily slights, insults, and invalidations—negatively impact the psychological well-being of people of color, there remains limited scholarship specifically focused on Latine communities. This study examines different types of racial microaggressions—such as invisibility, criminality, and sexualization—as predictors of psychological distress among Latine individuals. A sample of 434 Latine participants completed measures assessing their experiences with racial microaggressions, as well as symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress, and trauma. Four multiple linear regression models were …

Quantitative Analysis Of Psychological Safety, Resilience, And Intraminority Solidarity As Predictors Of Racial Trauma Distress Among Bipoc College Students, Miguel A. Castano, Richard Chang, Gloria Wong-Padoongpatt

Spectra Undergraduate Research Journal

Racial trauma distress is when post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms occur due to repeated and cumulative experiences of racism and can negatively impact Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC). Consensus in research findings strongly suggests that BIPOC students are more likely to experience racism on university campuses than non-BIPOC students. To mitigate some of these negative outcomes, existing research has shown that psychological safety, resilience, and intraminority solidarity are protective factors for BIPOC students experiencing race-related distress. However, little is known about the frequency of racial trauma distress among BIPOC college students and how these variables may protect against racial …

The Influence Of Nurse Union Size On Nurse Practitioner Full Practice Authority In The U.S., Yusuf Khan

Spectra Undergraduate Research Journal

The scope of practice for Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) is a critical issue in healthcare policy, influenced by both demand for healthcare services and legislative action. This paper examines the impact of nurse union size on a state having full practice authority for nurse practitioners across the United States. Utilizing data from the Nurse Unionization Data Tool and controlling for several variables (right-to-work laws, physicians per capita, and personal healthcare expenditures per capita), this study employs multivariate logistic regression to analyze the relationship between the proportion of unionized nurses and the extent of practice authority granted by state laws. …

The Evolving Roles Of U.S. Academic Librarians: A Snapshot Of Job Responsibilities In 2023, Russell Michalak, Laura Rose Taylor, Michelle Reed, Amanda Koziura, Devon Ellixson

Library Faculty Research

This study examines the evolving roles of academic librarians across North America. Adapting a survey tool published in a prior Canadian study, it surveys over 350 librarians in the United States, analyzing shifts in Research Support, Teaching and Learning, Digital Scholarship, User Experience, and Scholarly Communication. Results indicate significant engagement in information discovery and digital scholarship with a growing need for training in digital tools and data management. The resulting report highlights the crucial role of academic librarians in adapting to technological and educational changes, underscoring the necessity for ongoing professional development.

Voces En Contacto: El Español En La Amazonía Peruana, Margarita Jara, Andrés Napurí

Department of World Languages Faculty Research

Este dossier reúne investigaciones dedicadas al estudio del español amazónico peruano, un conjunto de variedades moldeadas por el contacto con lenguas indígenas y por profundas transformaciones sociopolíticas. Los trabajos aquí compilados abordan fenómenos fonéticos, fonológicos, morfosintácticos y discursivos, así como actitudes e ideologías lingüísticas, con el objetivo de caracterizar la complejidad estructural y social de estas hablas regionales. A través de metodologías que combinan análisis acústico, corpus de habla espontánea, entrevistas sociolingüísticas, herramientas variacionistas y análisis crítico del discurso multimodal, los estudios documentan innovaciones gramaticales y procesos de nivelación típicos del bilingüismo, así como prácticas de resistencia identitaria frente a …

Ya Vuelta En El Español Peruano Amazónico: De Marcador Discursivo A Emblema Subversivo, Alonso Vásquez-Aguilar, Pilar Valenzuela Bismarck, Margarita Jara Yupanqui

Department of World Languages Faculty Research

Este estudio analiza la expresión ya vuelta en el español peruano amazónico (EPA), proponiendo que ha trascendido su función como marcador discursivo mirativo para convertirse en un emblema de identidad regional y un recurso discursivo de resistencia. A partir de un corpus recopilado exclusivamente de interacciones en redes sociales —incluyendo X (antes Twitter), Facebook, Instagram y YouTube— se examinan los usos prototípicos de ya vuelta como marcador de miratividad y sus funciones innovadoras vinculadas a la reafirmación identitaria, la subversión de jerarquías lingüísticas y la autenticidad en contextos comerciales. El análisis muestra que los hablantes del EPA emplean ya vuelta …

Navigating Leadership In Bilingual Education: Exploring The Preparation, Experiences, And Adaptability Of Bilingual Education Leaders In The Southwest, Cynthia Romero

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study explored the experiences of school-level bilingual program leaders in the Southwestern United States, focusing on how their preparation, lived experiences, and local contexts shaped their leadership practices and decision-making. Drawing on Bourdieu’s theory of practice, the research examined how habitus and various forms of capital (cultural, social, and symbolic) influenced leaders’ approaches to developing and sustaining bilingual programs. Yosso’s theory of community cultural wealth (CCW) further expanded this lens by highlighting the aspirational, linguistic, familial, social, navigational, and resistant forms of capital.

Using a qualitative multi-case study design, the research analyzed policy documents, leadership preparation coursework, and semi-structured …

Las Voices: The Impact On Black Young Males In A Critical Mentorship Program In The Las Vegas Valley, Sean C. Tory

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In America, Black young males face an enormous amount of pressure regarding their social and racial identity. They battle with racial macro/microaggressions, stereotypes, racism, and socialization from various industries and systems. The community organization, King of Jewels, has been able to adopt effective strategies to help Black young males navigate these issues through critical mentorship. This paper will first demonstrate the importance of critical mentorship, Black Racial Identity Development, and will then outline the steps necessary to fill the gaps found in mentorship and Black Racial Identity Development literature. This qualitative study investigates the use of critical mentorship (CM) and …

Beyond Barriers: Improving Employment Outcomes For Young Adults On The Autism Spectrum, Kendra L. Cope

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) continue to face persistent barriers to employment, often stemming from challenges in communication, adaptability, and multitasking. Virtual reality (VR) has emerged as a promising tool to strengthen these employment skills through immersive, low-stress practice. This study evaluated a VR-based intervention using Floreo VR modules, guided practice, and performance feedback to enhance job readiness among high school students with ASD. A multiple-probe design across three skill domains: multitasking, handling interruptions and changes, and workplace communication to examine skill acquisition and maintenance with three students with ASD aged 16–18. Data from task-analysis checklists, interobserver agreement …

Intervention Outcomes Of A Family-Based Intervention: A Case Review Of An Asian American Adolescent At Clinical High Risk For Psychosis, Monica Elizabeth Done

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Schizophrenia is a lifelong and debilitating condition that occurs in approximately 1% of individuals globally and includes positive, negative, disorganized, and other symptoms that interfere with functioning. The onset typically happens in adolescence, and recently, there has been an emphasis on finding individuals who are at high clinical risk for developing psychosis (CHR-P). Additionally, there has been a focus on creating intervention programs that may treat symptoms in the early phases of illness and decrease the likelihood of developing a schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders (SSD). Furthermore, there is limited research on the potential impacts of cultural identity on …

Towards Spatial Inversion Of Aerial Gamma-Ray Survey Data For Measurement Of Naturally Occurring Radioactivity, Daniel A. Haber

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Aerial gamma-ray surveying (AGRS) is used in geologic and environmental contexts to provide data on the surface spatial distribution of naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) or other gamma-ray-emitting isotopes. The standard data reduction workflow for AGRS data involves a process whereby pointwise gamma-ray spectral data are denoised, corrected for numerous sources of background radiation and aircraft height, and are finally converted to physical values by empirical conversion factors. The reduced pointwise data are then typically spatially interpolated to form a continuous surface map.

This dissertation introduces and explores a novel spatial inversion method for reduced AGRS data that considers aircraft …

Hypervigilance In Emerging Adulthood: The Impact Of Trauma, Milestone Achievement, And Minority Identity, Alexis Rice

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Emerging adulthood is a critical developmental period marked by identity exploration, increased autonomy, and heightened vulnerability to societal pressures. This mixed methods study examined how hypervigilance: a heightened state of alertness often associated with trauma and minority stress- varies by gender, sexual identity, racial trauma exposure, and adulthood milestone achievement among emerging adults aged 18–29. A total of 369 participants completed measures assessing hypervigilance behaviors, adulthood milestone attainment, and trauma exposure. Quantitative analyses revealed that sexual and gender minority (SGM) individuals and cisgender women reported significantly higher levels of hypervigilance compared to their counterparts. Witnessing trauma inflicted on someone of …

A Case Study Of The Implementation Of Nevada’S Program To Reduce Recidivism Of The State’S Female Prison Population, Lisa C. Levine

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Success in public administration is often defined by long-term goals that demonstrate how effective a program or policy is. These long-term goals can take years to measure leading to investment doubts, shifting stakeholder goals, and the sunsetting of programs. There is a need to better understand how short-term and intermediate outcomes of a program can be used to measure success and the role goal orientation of stakeholders play in the implementation. Prison education programming exemplifies this problem as reducing recidivism, a leading goal for these types of programs, take a lifetime to prove. This study examines a female prison education …

Demographic Similarity, Psychopathy, And Perceived Inherent Value: An Investigation Of Factors Influencing Moral Decision Making, Ashley Michelle Poston

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The present study experimentally manipulated the demographic characteristics of the subjects of moral dilemmas such that they were 20%, 40%, 60%, and 80% demographically similar to participants. Participants rated each of these individuals on a novel measure of perceived inherent value, the Perceived Inherent Value Scale (PIVS) and responded to a series of moral dilemmas using the Consequences, Norms, and preference for Inaction (CNI) model of moral decision making where the subjects of the moral dilemmas were the 20%, 40%, 60%, and 80% similar individuals. Participants rated individuals who were more demographically similar to themselves as having greater perceived inherent …

“I Can Gossip With Anybody, I Can’T Chisme With Everybody”: Chisme, Gossip, And Identity In Latina-Americans, Alexa B. Romero

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

As individuals adjust to their belonging to two distinct cultures, there are various ways of adapting to their navigation of the two cultures (Berry, 1980). The way(s) an individual chooses to adjust to their two cultures can have varying effects on identity. When directly translated, chisme (Spanish) means gossip. Although the two include overlap in function and uses, chisme offers unique purposes for the Latinx community and further, Latina-Americans (González Ybarra & Player 2024; Gutierrez, 2017; Uribe, 2025). By using the communication theory of identity (Hecht, 1993) the purpose of this thesis was to investigate the role of chisme and …

Unseen, Unbroken: Black Women In Educational Leadership Overcoming Inequities, Microaggressions, And Invisibility, Inspiring Perseverance And Resilience In Future Black Women Leaders, Angella Baldwin

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study explored the challenges that Black women face when pursuing leadership roles in K–12 education, specifically in middle schools. Despite being prepared and eager to lead, Black women are often overlooked and made to feel invisible. Still, we persevere, navigating barriers with determination, faith, and purpose, and continue to support those who follow. Guided by Black Feminist Thought, Endarkened Feminism, and Structural Intersectionality, this study centers Black women’s lived experiences as valid sources of knowledge. It highlights how leadership is shaped by overlapping systems of oppression and resistance, and how it is sustained by prayer, faith in God, and …

The Maroons: The First Black Nationalists Of The Americas, Marquise K. Camp

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Maroon communities are seldom discussed in academic discussions about Black nationalism. This suggests that the goals and achievements of the Maroons differed from those of Black nationalists, and that there are no significant historical links between the two. This project argues that Black nationalists and the Maroons are closely related, not only because of their shared roots in the African diaspora but also because they both sought independence and self-governance for Black people. The aims of Black nationalists like Marcus Garvey and Malcolm X closely resemble those of the Maroons. By examining the Maroons alongside Black nationalism, one can gain …

Examining Religiosity, Suicidality, And Internalized Homonegativity Among Ethnoracially Diverse Sexual Minority Students, Danica Christy

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Sexual minority (SM) individuals are at an elevated risk for suicidality, particularly those who hold multiple marginalized identities, including religious and racial minority statuses. While religiosity is generally protective against psychological distress and suicide for heterosexual individuals, its impact on SM individuals is more complex. It may function as both a risk and a protective factor. The current mixed methods study explored the relationships between religiosity, internalized homonegativity (IH), and suicidality among an ethno-racially diverse sample of college students (n = 246). Quantitative analyses revealed that SM participants (n = 123) reported significantly higher rates of suicidality than their heterosexual …