Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Help Of Southern Nevada Analysis Project, Lauren Cella, Carly Dunlap, Jonathon Nunes, Anna Vaillancourt

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

HELP of Southern Nevada (HELP), a not-for-profit agency, would like to expand their current services by operating a thrift store. It is anticipated that this thrift store would bring in additional revenue and also benefit their current programs. In direct conversations with the Chief Operating Officer of HELP, areas of concern were expressed regarding the implementation process of the thrift store. These areas pertained to size and location of their potential facility, staffing issues, and distribution priority of donated goods to their existing programs. Analysis was conducted through on-site interviews with other executives of Southern Nevada not-for profit thrift stores …

Fertility Symbols In Rock Art: Cupuls And Incised Grooves In The Lower Pecos, Texas, Cara D. Connolly

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Rock art at archaeological sites are often dismissed as a culturally symbolic representation that cannot be objectively or scientifically analyzed or interpreted adequately. Such dismissals are detrimental to understanding all aspects of a given culture. Although uninformed interpretations of rock art panels are counterproductive, systematic recording and the testing of different hypotheses is a valid way to begin to better understand the possible range of social functions of rock art. This research examines whether indigenous women's fertility is represented in rock art depictions, known as cupules and groove marks, in the archaeological record. Cupules are defined as a boulder or …

“Change” In The 2008 Presidential Campaign: A Study In Rhetorical Definition, Graciela Saez Kleriga

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Every election cycle, the major party candidates accept a nomination for the presidency and launch the general campaign. These rhetors not only weave a narrative about themselves as qualified candidates; they also forward an argument about how the public should choose between two candidates. In particular, the 2008 presidential campaign's central question asked Americans about the type of change the nation should undertake. By tracing the definitional arguments utilized at the outset of the general election, this project analyzes how Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain utilized this desire for "Change" as a strategic theme.

Beyond The Demographic Transition: The Case Of Japan, Mary Beth Horiai

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

A combination of declining birthrates and increasing life expectancy in industrial countries has led to aging populations. In addition, more rapidly declining birth rates combined with only slowly increasing life spans has led to declining populations in some countries. These continuing demographic shifts are likely to be accompanied by economic, political and social changes. Japan is unique relative to other countries in four ways: 1) it has reached the condition of aging faster than any other industrialized country, 2) it has the highest life expectancy rate among major industrialized countries, 3) the proportion of elderly population (over 65) is the …

Reintegrative Shaming And Juvenile Delinquency In Japan, Mari Sakiyama

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Japanese juvenile justice system has been widely regarded as operating based on the principles of reintegrative shaming. Reintegrative shaming, as opposed to a stigmatizing form of shaming, communicates disapproval of wrongdoing with respect, and emphasizes rehabilitation, reintegration, and restoration. Central to reintegrative shaming at the initial contact point of the criminal justice system in Japan are apology and diversion by the local police. Citing juvenile delinquency cases reported in a major national newspaper in Japan, this study analyzes to what extent the community reacted to the delinquency upon its commission. This analysis helps clarify the juvenile justice process in …

Estimating Wildfire Potential On A Mojave Desert Landscape Using Remote Sensing And Field Sampling, Peter F. Van Linn Iii

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Landscape level wildfire prediction can be used to allocate wildfire resources and guide land management practices. Wildfire prediction in arid habitats in the Southwestern United States is of specific concern because of the negative ecological impacts of fire on desert habitats and the current lack of accurate fire prediction tools for such areas. This study examines the ability to predict previous fire occurrences and estimate future fire potential using satellite imagery and on the ground field survey techniques along with ignition potential data (lightning strikes and distance to roads), topographical data (elevation and aspect), and climate information (maximum and minimum …

The Size Of The Risk: An Environmental History Of The Nuclear Great Basin, Leisl Ann Carr Childers

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Throughout the twentieth century, Congress has managed the nation's public lands for the greater good of the country under a multiple-use construct. Land-use decisions based on serving the nation's public interest entailed federal land management agencies finding the utility of the land in order to put as much of it as possible into some kind of economic production and provide equitable access, as much as was feasible, to all the various public land users. But every federal program enacted on the nation's public lands has had an associated cost; not everyone or every environment has benefited from multiple-use public land …

Ready For Life — An Evaluation: Factors Relating To Truancy And Promising Practices, Clayton Nichols, Shenita Harper, Maria Thomas, Mikaela Louve, Christina Vela

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Truancy has been linked to serious delinquent activity in youth and to significant negative behavior and characteristics in adults. Truancy is one of the most common factors leading to dropout and students not meeting graduation standards. Nevada has arguably the highest high school dropout rate in the nation. This evaluation was prepared for Ready for Life: A movement created by Nevada Public Education Foundation (NPEF), to connect youth to school and work by age 25, but can be of use to several audiences. Practitioners who work with struggling students, court representatives and parents, teachers and administrators, and anyone who has …

Bilingualism And Math Cognition, Michelle M. Guillaume

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Within cognitive psychology, the fields of bilingualism and math cognition have been investigated relatively separately from one another. Although there has been a substantial amount of research conducted in both areas, few studies have examined mathematical processes as they relate to bilinguals. A couple of the traditional effects found in the math cognition literature, the problem size and associative confusion effects, have been studied with bilinguals; however, bilingual categorization was not carefully controlled for in those studies. There have also been mathematical models applied to bilingual samples; one such model is the encoding-complex model, which has been extended to Chinese-English …

Imagined Interactions As A Link To Political Talk, Megan Lambertz

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

According to the imagined interaction theory (IIT), IIs are the cognitive processes where individuals indirectly experience past or future interactions through the process of imagination (Honeycutt, 2003). Retroactive IIs occur after a conversation takes place, whereas proactive IIs occur when individuals imagine a conversation before the interaction (Honeycutt, 2010). The current study examined individuals‟ imagined interactions (IIs) regarding conversations about politics with family members. Participants completed an online survey where they recorded retroactive and proactive IIs, and completed a set of measures regarding their family and political affiliation. Both proactive and retroactive IIs fell into eleven categories for content. Proactive …

The Effect Of Early Environmental Manipulation On Locomotor Sensitivity And Methamphetamine Condition Place Preference Reward, Emily Hensleigh

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Early life stress has drastic effects on neurological development, affecting health and well-being later in life. Instances of child abuse and neglect are associated with higher rates of depression, risk taking behavior, and an increased risk of drug abuse later in life (Chapman,D.P. 2004; Dube,S.R. 2003). This study used repeated neonatal separation of rat pups as a model of early life stress. Rat pups were either handled and weighed as controls or separated for 180 minutes per day during postnatal days 2-8. In adulthood, rats were tested for methamphetamine conditioned place preference reward and methamphetamine induced locomotor activity. Tissue samples …

The Right To Privacy In Light Of The Patriot Act And Social Contract Theory, Betsey Sue Casman

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

There is a continual debate between individuals who attempt to measure the individual’s right to privacy against the government’s right to know in order to provide for the security of all citizens.

The questions that beg to be answered are whether the individual’s right to privacy outweighs the government’s duty to provide security; and if security is deemed more important, can there even be a right to privacy. It is critical to our nation’s anti-terrorism effort that our intelligence agencies possess the legal capacity to intercept all forms of communications utilized by terrorists and hostile intelligence agents. Inevitably this will …

Employment Selections Of Resident And Non-Resident Graduates Of Physical Therapy Programs In Underserved Western States, Trever J. Cornia, Ryan B. Dutot, Jacob T. Parsons, Kathryn D. Swart

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Background and Purpose:Physical therapy (PT) is an essential component of the healthcare system in providing a comprehensive treatment plan for patients with functional limitations. The demand for physical therapy services is projected to expand in the next eight years, leading to an increased need for practicing physical therapists. The Mountain States plus Washington State (MSPWS) demonstrate the greatest shortage of therapists and are considered to be medically underserved. The purpose of this study was to determine the retention rates of resident and non-resident physical therapy graduates of public universities in the MSPWS and to determine which factors influenced their …

The Male Educational Leader In Utah: Gender Dynamics, Power, And Relational Leadership In A Mormon Dominant Culture, Rick Robins

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This qualitative study explored the impact of Mormon culture and theology on male and female school leaders that co-exist on high school administrative teams. This problematic relationship is caused by the scarcity of female administrators in Utah as they move up the leadership ladder in education. According to the Utah State Office of Education in 2006, there were 118 public high schools in the state of Utah. Out of those 118 high schools, 18 were lead by female principals. There were 141 middle schools. Of the middle schools in the state, 40 were lead by female principals. Of the 617 …

Examining Activity Levels And Motor Proficiency: A Comparison Of Children Who Are Overweight And At A Healthy Weight To Their Parents And Peers, Aaron Copeland, Maresa Madsen, Riley Phelps, Brandon Richards

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine relationships and differences between motor proficiency, activity level, and parental activity level in children who are at a healthy weight and children who are overweight or obese.

Methods: Forty-four children (26 children at a healthy weight and 18 children who were overweight or obese) between the ages of 8-16 (BMI: 14.3-43.6 kg/m2) and 36 parents (BMI: 18.1-44.7) participated in this study. Children and parents wore StepWatch activity monitors (SAM) to measure activity levels over a 72 hour period. Tests reflecting several determinants of motor performance were also administered to …

The Process Of Coaching: An Examination Of Authenticity, Steven C. Barnson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The primary purpose of this project was to approach the complexity of coaching by embracing the tensions inherently found in the coaching process. In doing so, the goal was to develop a grounded theory that describes the process interscholastic team coaches' use in doing their job from a paradoxical perspective. While working to achieve that goal, the coaching process was described using language that is meaningful for practicing coaches. In addition, the nature a coaching philosophy plays in the decision-making process for coaches was also probed. The goals of this study were developed because of coaching science's failure to adequately …

Prayer In Jewish Community High Schools: Generation Y Jews In An Era Of Unlimited Choices, Yonatan Yussman

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine and analyze tefilla (prayer) programs in three Jewish community high schools, as well as professional leadership practices in these schools as they related to prayer. The questions that guided this research were: (1) What does prayer education and practice look like in Jewish community high schools? (2) How is prayer education and practice perceived by key constituencies in Jewish community high schools? (3) How do educators and students in Jewish community high schools describe authentic prayer?

Site observations, interviews with students, faculty, and administration, as well as data collected from sources …

Factors Of Adoption: Initiating Relationships Using Online Dating Sites, Rachel Lee Toyer

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The present study used the Diffusion of Innovations Model to explore the circumstances that lead graduate and professional students enrolled at the a university in southern Nevada to adopt online dating services with the intent of initiating a serious commitment with a potential partner. The diffusion model was used to frame online dating as a process that people go through in acquiring knowledge about the service, forming an opinion about it, testing the service, and finally adopting the service into their daily life. Factors such as time afforded to relationships, apprehension in social situations, safety, and opinions of online dating …

Planning For Building-Integrated Agriculture In Las Vegas, Robert Vralsted

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

High food prices, concern about food nutrition and safety, and an awareness of commercial farming's environmental impact have generated a renewed interest in sustainable urban agriculture. Advances in controlled environment agriculture (CEA) have made it possible to grow food virtually anywhere in a much more sustainable manner than traditional field-based agriculture. Locating and planning urban farms using retrofitted existing building stock to maximize food production and ease of distribution in Las Vegas requires consideration of multiple barriers related to geography, economics, and the built environment. Consideration of these factors in the planning process informs the design of a successful BIA …

Teacher Gesture In A Post-Secondary English As A Second Language Classroom: A Sociocultural Approach, Natalie Hudson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Vygotsky (1978) uses the example of gesture in a child, stating that finger pointing represents an interpersonal relationship, and only after this cultural form is internalized can an intrapersonal relationship develop. Language learning must be viewed in the context of social interaction, and the gesture of others, specifically language instructors toward their students, is a form of social interaction worthy of attention. Newman and Holzman (1993) discuss the idea of performance as a mode of semiotic mediation related to meaning making. Daniels, Cole, and Wertsch (2007) also discuss the concept of performance, stating that gestures are tools which assist performance. …

Resilient Leadership In High Poverty Schools, Edward P. San Nicolas

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Children in high poverty schools often receive inadequate services in dilapidated facilities while enduring inexperienced and unprepared educators (Darling-Hammond, 2004). Communities with a dense impoverished population in turn create school wide poverty, which is ultimately more detrimental than individual family poverty (Books, 2004). With most teachers leaving impoverished urban schools within the first five years, it is no surprise of the difficulty to retain qualified and professional school leaders. As suggested by Haberman (2005), attracting educators with specific qualities to fill these critical roles may be the best route to lasting success. Equally important is the possibility to transform existing …

Gatekeeping In A Tv News Editorial Conference: Shift Of Force, Other Media, Personal Experience And Pack Mentality, Kyril Daniel Plaskon

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study uses Gatekeeping Theory and Conversational Analysis to describe how four factors influence news gatekeepers in a small group at one TV station. The four factors include shifting forces, other media, personal experience and pack mentality. They were identified through conversational analysis of pilot data and the research questions are supported in the literature as common influences in news gatekeeping. This study describes how those four elements occur during group conversation.

Analysis of the recorded data collected in five editorial conferences describes how the four factors are expressed by the gatekeepers as they consider events that may become news. …

International Study Program For Indoor Environmental Research, Stoil Pamoukov

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study examined the effect on student performance, perception and mood caused by different physical classroom environmental conditions. Three classroom physical environmental conditions were investigated; room temperature, light intensity and sound level. A two phase pilot study was performed where these conditions were compounded into one and two levels were selected in such a way to create a normal and extreme classroom physical environment. A total of 154 undergraduate UNLV students participated in the two phase pilot laboratory study in which they completed tasks related to reading and listening to an oral presentation of a passage of high density technical …

1983: The Most Dangerous Year, Andrew R. Garland

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

A series of otherwise unrelated events culminated to make 1983 the most dangerous year the world has ever known, with the United States and the Soviet Union even closer to war than during the much more well-known events of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. The crisis of 1983 arose from a sequence of accidents, misunderstandings, and mistakes. From highly publicized events such as President Ronald Reagan‘s application of morality to foreign policy to the Soviet Union‘s attempt to discover NATO‘s secret attack plans, an extraordinary confluence of events brought the two superpowers closer to nuclear exchange than is commonly believed. …

Jackpot! A Legal History Of Indian Gaming In California, Aaron Peardon

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Indian Gaming has transformed the economic, political, and sociological landscape of California. The growth of Indian casinos has had a profound impact on both Indian and non-Indian communities alike. California tribes took the lead in legalizing Indian Gaming throughout the nation. The efforts of California tribes in the legislative and political process have enabled many tribal groups to rise out of poverty and to gain prosperity that would otherwise be impossible to achieve. They have also brought increased revenue to local communities and have provided thousands of jobs to all Californians.

This thesis discusses the historical relationships between Native American …

Cyberbullying In Schools: A Research Study On School Policies And Procedures, Brian Wiseman

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

A mixed-methods research design first using quantitative then qualitative data was used in order to explore what cyberbullying policies are being employed by principals in the state of Nevada. Electronic surveys were given to all 118 middle school principals in Nevada. Middle school was chosen because it is the age where cyberbullying behaviors are most prevalent. Out of the 118 surveys that were deployed, 66 principals responded. A series of independent t-tests and a chi-squared analysis was conducted using the survey data. The survey concluded by asking principals if they were willing to participate in a one-on-one interview regarding the …

A New Socialist World In Latin America?, Dana R. Ramos

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

During the last decade, the left-turn, or pink tide, in Latin America has caused many scholars to seek to explain what has fueled the political gains of leftist parties in this region. One of the main challenges is to try and define what constitutes a leftist party or a left agenda. There is a wide spectrum when it comes to classifying left-right placement ideologies and the distinction may be based on both economic and social values' differences. This study will examine a number of competing theories concerning left-right placement of three case studies: Bolivia, Venezuela, and Colombia. These three case …

Testosterone And Vasopressin In Men’S Reproductive Behavior, Eric T. Steiner

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

One common practice used by researchers is to divide human reproduction into two major domains: mating and parenting. Adaptive problems men faced over the millennia may have produced evolutionary pressure for hormone responses and behavior that facilitate both mating and parenting, either separately or simultaneously. The sometimes competing domains of mating and parenting in men are often mediated by a number of the same hormones, such as testosterone (T) and arginine vasopressin (AVP). One aim of the current study was to examine differences in baseline levels of T and AVP between childless men who were not in an exclusive, romantic …

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (Pcos) In Urban India, Heidi A. Manlove

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This thesis research focuses on urban women in India diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). PCOS is a complex metabolic, endocrine and reproductive disorder affecting approximately 5-10% of the female population in developed countries. The prevalence of PCOS is on the rise in developing nations like India, which are undergoing rapid nutritional transitions due to Westernized diets and lifestyle. However, less appreciated in the literature are the developmental psychosocial impacts for women diagnosed with PCOS, especially in developing countries. Thus, the goal of my thesis research was to contribute to the small but growing literature by investigating psychosocial dimensions of …

Cognitive Load Of Critical Thinking Strategies, Hanem Shehab

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Critical thinking is important for today's life, where individuals daily face unlimited amounts of information, complex problems, and rapid technological and social changes. Therefore, critical thinking should be the focus of general education and educators' efforts (Angeli & Valanides, 2009; Oliver & Utermohlen, 1995). Despite passively agreeing or disagreeing with a line of reasoning, critical thinkers use analytical skills to comprehend and evaluate its merits, considering strengths and weaknesses. Critical thinkers also analyze arguments, recognizing the essentiality of asking for reasons and considering alternative views and developing their own point of view (Paul, 1990). Kuhn and Udell (2007) emphasize that …