Preserving Nevada's Higher Education Governance Entity: A Case Study

Cooper, Deanna University of Nevada, Las Vegas ProQuest Dissertat 2020 해외박사(DDOD)

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand the preservation of Nevada’s higher education governance entity through the theoretical framework of punctuated equilibrium theory, which may provide useful information to Nevada’s state policymakers as they seek to address the state’s educated workforce needs via postsecondary governance reform. This study sought to explore the Nevada legislative policymaking process, why policy actors responded as they did and the context in which they responded by examining the life cycle of three unique higher education governance reform bills. Interviews with 12 policy actors and review of over 150 public documents revealed three overarching themes: (1) public support of AJR 11 was insufficient to overcome a structure-induced equilibrium created by the Nevada Constitution; (2) the policy solution AB 331 offered was too extreme and complex to garner legislative support; and (3) perchance, unconventional tactics AJR 5 cosponsors employed in the legislative policymaking process of AJR 5 may induce for the first time, a policy punctuation that ultimately reforms Nevada’s higher education governance entity.

A study of allied health care entry-level employee workplace basic skills and competencies

McClain, Mildred Arroyo University of Nevada, Las Vegas 2002 해외박사(DDOD)

This study utilized quantitative research methodologies to investigate the perceptions of Nevada allied health care providers regarding the importance of the workplace basic skills and competencies identified by the United States Department of Labor Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS,1991). Since it was assumed that employers possess direct knowledge of their employees' work skills, a questionnaire was developed and distributed to allied health care department supervisors in all of the identified hospitals within the state of Nevada. A primary purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which allied health care providers in Nevada considered each of the SCANS (1991) skills and competencies as adequately identifying those necessary for entry-level employment into the allied health care industry. Additionally, the study determined to what extent Nevada allied health care employers perceived their entry-level employees as sufficiently possessing SCANS (1991) skills and competencies. Existing differences between perceived allied health care industry requirements and perceived entry-level skills and competencies were also determined. Finally, the study determined the importance of the SCANS (1991) skills and competencies to the productivity and profitability of respondent's hospitals. This study suggested that the workplace basic skills and competencies identified by the United States Department of Labor Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS, 1991) are perceived to be valid and necessary for the allied health care industry. Furthermore, the study indicated that “skill gaps” are apparent between perceived allied health care industry requirements and perceived entry-level skills and competencies of entry-level employees. Finally, it was determined that the identified workplace skills and competencies of employees were considered very necessary for a hospital's productivity and profitability.

Structural setting and fluid characteristics of metamorphic gold-quartz veins in northwest Nevada

정상원 University of Nevada,Reno 1999 해외박사

Geophysical modeling and geochemical analysis for hydrogeologic assessment of the Steamboat Hills area, Nevada

Skalbeck, John David University of Nevada, Reno 2001 해외박사(DDOD)

Three studies constitute the hydrogeologic assessment of the Steamboat Hills area, Washoe County, Nevada. Geophysical modeling and geochemical analysis are used to assess the hydrogeologic connection between a fractured bedrock geothermal system used to produce electrical power and surrounding alluvial aquifer basins used for municipal drinking water supply. Understanding the hydrogeologic connection between these two water resources is important for long-term management of these resources. Coupled 2.75-D forward modeling of multiple gravity and aeromagnetic profiles constrained by geological and physical properties (density, magnetic susceptibility, remanent magnetic) data yields a detailed 3-D geologic model of the geothermal system and the alluvial basins. A new method is presented for modeling the geothermal reservoir based on altered physical properties of host rock that yields a reservoir volume estimate that is double the previously assumed volume. The configuration of the modeled geothermal reservoir suggests that a previously unrecognized thermal water up-flow zone may exist along the west flank of the Steamboat Hills. Model results delineate the elevation and thickness of geologic units that can be used in numerical modeling of groundwater flow, planning exploration drilling, and evaluating fully 3-D forward modeling software. The Steamboat Hills geothermal resource area offers an excellent opportunity to test an exploration strategy using magnetics. A zone of demagnetized rock within the geothermal resource area resulting from thermochemical alteration due to thermal water flow along faults and fractures is apparent as an aeromagnetic low anomaly. Anomalously low ground magnetic data delineate a fault that conducts thermal water from the geothermal system to an alluvial aquifer. Vertical magnetic susceptibility from core measurements yields an average value for altered granodiorite used in forward modeling. Permeable fractures and a major fault zone noted in the core hole log correspond to low magnetic susceptibility values suggesting thermal alteration or mineral replacement along fractures. Temporal variations in B and Cl concentrations, water levels, and temperature are used to assess the mixing of thermal and non-thermal waters in alluvial aquifers north of the Steamboat Hills. Previously undocumented temporal variations indicate that the degree of mixing is dependent on proximity to north-trending faults connecting the geothermal reservoir and the alluvial aquifer. Mixing trends at selected wells suggest temperature dependent boron adsorption.

A Component and Process Analysis of the Impact of Enhanced Self-Instructional Packets on Behavioral Programming

Al-Nasser, Thouraya University of Nevada, Reno ProQuest Dissertations 2020 해외박사(DDOD)

Staff training is widely understood to be of great importance for any ABA agency, but it is often difficult to find the resources needed for sufficient staff training (LeBlanc, Gravina, & Carr, 2009). Frequent and effective training is viewed as an instrumental component for achieving better outcomes and for fostering staff retention (Nosik, Williams, Garrido, & Lee, 2013). Staff training is viewed as being key to better staff morale, productivity, and efficiency (Carr et al., 2013). This only adds to the challenges faced in delivering proper training to staff across the range of different ABA clinics, settings and cultures. Research on staff training has focused on experimentally comparing the effect of each component of the training package in an effort to identify components most responsible for behavior change (Cooper, Heron, & Heward, 2007; WardHorner & Sturmey, 2010). The aim of the current research was to extend the existent literature regarding staff training by investigating if the enhanced self-instructional training packet would increase participant’s procedural fidelity in applying taught skills replicating Al-Nasser et. al (2018). Eighty-eight undergraduate students at University of Nevada. Reno (UNR) with no behavior analysis background participated in this study. Results showed that having pictures and simplified language as part of the enhanced training packet increased staffs’ procedural fidelity to 91% with (20 out of 22 participants) scoring at an accuracy of 70% or higher. Followed by simplified language with 63.6% (14 out of 22) scoring at an accuracy of 70% or higher. Pictures only training packet was third with (41% ; 9 out of 22) scoring at an accuracy 70% or higher and fourth was the standard training packet with (41%; 9 out of 22) scoring at an accuracy 70% or higher. To account for any difference may be found in knowledge processes the extent, flexibility, and speed of verbal knowledge were assessed. Results showed that MT-IRAP was successful in measuring flexibility when participants deliberately responded incorrect to Dunce items and correct to Einstein items. A secondary question was investigated in this study that looked into whether implicit knowledge relates to overt behavior above and beyond the extent of knowledge. This was assessed by examining whether the interference effects assessed by the MT-IRAP (the difference in latency between deliberately correct answers and deliberately incorrect answers expressed as the D score) relate to procedural fidelity scores, and if they do, whether they do so over and above untimed tests of knowledge. Results showed no indication that implicit knowledge was impacted by training.

Evidence-Based Intervention to Improve Health Literacy among Older Adults with Newly Diagnosed Atrial Fibrillation

Rowe, Johana University of Nevada, Las Vegas ProQuest Dissertat 2022 해외박사(DDOD)

Background and Significance: Atrial fibrillation (AFib) is the most common arrhythmia encountered in the healthcare setting. As of 2018, approximately 6.1 million people in the United States were living with AFib which is projected to increase to 12.1 million by 2030. Older adults are at higher risk of developing AFib and its complications. AFib is a chronic condition that requires targeted patient education by healthcare providers in different healthcare settings. Patient’s low health literacy regarding the condition is a significant barrier to therapy adherence. Given the high rate of poor health literacy among individuals newly diagnosed with AFib and the adverse outcomes associated with it, improving health literacy in this population is significant. Purpose: This project aimed to increase the health literacy of older adults newly diagnosed with AFib in Nevada. Methods: A convenient sample of newly diagnosed AFib patients that included English and Spanish speakers were recruited from an outpatient Cardiology clinic and an acute care hospital, both located in Las Vegas, Nevada. The data on demographic characteristics, health literacy, attitudes, and confidence in AFib knowledge and its management were collected using Qualtrics®. Participants scanned a QR code to take the test on their phones. A tablet was available for those who did not have a smartphone. The COVID-19 protocol was followed as required. Data were collected pre and post-educational intervention. A pamphlet was provided with key points of the presentation at the end of the session. A dependent t-test for matched pairs was used to analyze the mean difference in health literacy pre-and post-intervention. Results: The project found statistically significant improvement in participants’ health literacy on AFib. The total sample size was 27, primarily English-speaking White males, with less than Bachelor's degree. There was a statistically significant difference between pre-test and post-test health literacy scores [t (25) = 6.59, p < 0.001]. The mean score of knowledge increased from13.42 (3.45) to 17.69 (0.55) after the educational intervention. A statistically significant improvement was noted post-intervention in confidence and attitudes using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. For evaluation of the intervention, the majority of the participants either agreed or strongly agreed that the intervention was organized and appropriate and increased their knowledge about their condition. Conclusion: The educational presentation was beneficial in improving patient’s knowledge regarding AFib and its management. Future research should evaluate improved health literacy over time and its impact on quality of life, treatment adherence, and hospitalization rates. Implications for Nursing Practice: Patient’s knowledge of AFib and its management is essential for treatment effectiveness. Given that patients had significantly less health literacy about their condition, it is important that educational interventions like this project be implemented among newly diagnosed AFib patients during their hospital stay. Although long-term impact of this type of intervention was not measured, it may improve medication adherence and lower hospitalization and healthcare costs to treat AFib-related complications among older adults.

Can Desert Mosses Hide from Climate Change?: The Ecophysiological Importance ofHabitat Buffering and Water Relations to a Keystone Biocrust Moss in the Mojave Desert

Clark, Theresa A University of Nevada, Las Vegas ProQuest Dissertat 2020 해외박사(DDOD)

Empirical and observational studies suggest a keystone biocrust moss, Syntrichia caninervis, may be sensitive to future climate change in the American Southwest due to its uniquely sensitive water relations that appear particularly challenged during summer hydration-desiccation cycles. However, the potential mitigating roles of habitat buffering, acclimatization, and winter recovery on the vulnerability of this species remain largely unexplored. I investigated potential abiotic and biotic resiliency factors driving summer stress resistance and recovery in S. caninervis along present-day aridity gradients in the Mojave Desert to strengthen the climate change vulnerability assessment for this species common to biocrusts of North America, northern Africa, and Asia.I sampled fall and spring shoots from three Mojave Desert life zone sites stratifying selection of 94 microsites across three nested aridity gradients: site elevation, mesotopographical exposure, and microhabitat exposure. I quantified microsite annual shade time with a novel photographic approach accurate for the 20 x 20 cm microsites and used on-site climate stations and microscale light sensors to estimate winter recovery conditions. This climate data informed lab-simulated recovery and stress experiments that I combined with photosynthetic performance assays to explore 1) the physiological significance of habitat buffering in summer along three scales of aridity, 2) winter-recovery potential under optimal cloudy-day conditions, 3) potential life zone legacy effects in productivity, morphology, and physiology of common-garden shoots, 4) desiccation tolerance following an extreme rapid-dry challenge, 5) in situ natural winter recovery from summer stress, 6) potential seasonal legacy effects on simulated recovery, and 7) the quality and frequency of natural winter recovery conditions during precipitation events in each life zone.I uncovered ten ecophysiological signatures of resiliency to present-day climate stress in three life zone populations of S. caninervis along a 1200-m elevation gradient in the Desert National Wildlife Refuge, Nevada. The summer stress signal (chlorophyll fluorescence ratio, Fv/Fm) and photosynthetic performance (ΦPSII) of 94 S. caninervis microsites was highly variable and not related to life zone but strongly related to topographical aspect and microhabitat shade. During simulated recovery under optimal winter conditions, all samples recovered to healthy levels within 8 h, at which point a significant positive relationship to elevation life zone emerged in photosynthetic physiology. Common-garden mosses demonstrated a strong potential for long-term recovery via apical shoot extension, while life zone patterns in rhizoidal growth and plant size were conserved in new growth. This life zone signal in physiology began to fade in the garden, but protective, 6-week legacy effects in physiology and morphology (plant size and leaf bistratosity) were linked to increased rapid-dry resiliency in the low-elevation population. These life zone patterns were largely absent after 12 weeks of dehardening, suggesting life zone plastic tradeoffs for increased desiccation tolerance may come at the cost of reduced productivity with long-term legacy effects on photosynthetic physiology and rapid-dry resistance.Mean stress and performance following natural winter recovery were 57% and 64% of that achieved during the 24-h simulated recovery, but spring-sampled shoots reached or exceeded healthy summer recovery levels within a 4- to 24-h simulated hydroperiod while demonstrating strong winter light acclimatization effects by life zone. The spring stress photosynthetic signal was greatest at the low-elevation and lowest at the mid-elevation. This inverse, nonlinear relationship to elevation meant that spring stress was not related to total winter precipitation, which increased with elevation, and was best explained by mean annual topographical exposure and higher absolute humidity and frost-free temperatures at the low-elevation site during putative periods of moss hydration.These findings implicate a strong potential for future climate resiliency in populations of S. caninervis living in one of the most extreme desert climates of the species’ global range. Contrary to predictions from global change experiments, my findings suggest (1) a combination of strong desiccation tolerance paired with summer habitat buffering may increase summer stress resistance, (2) short- and long-recovery during winter precipitation hydroperiods is plausible, (3) recovery may be strengthened by seasonal legacy effects that optimize productivity tradeoffs for increased resiliency to desiccation, and (4) the quality of winter precipitation conditions may be more important to recovery than the quantity. Collectively, these findings suggest this keystone biocrust moss and its ecosystem services may be less vulnerable to a changing Mojave Desert than previously thought.

Evaluating Late Pleistocene and Holocene Rupture, Seismic Hazards and Ground Motion in the Lake Tahoe Basin

Schmauder, Gretchen Cathleen University of Nevada, Reno 2013 해외박사(DDOD)

Chapter two in this study is a reevaluation of active faulting across the Tahoe basin a combination of airborne LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) imagery, high-resolution seismic CHIRP profiles, multibeam bathymetric mapping, and field mapping. The combined lateral and vertical resolution has allowed a straight forward identification of the landward extension of fault scarps associated with the three major active fault zones in the Tahoe basin: the West Tahoe-Dollar Point fault, Stateline-North Tahoe fault, and Incline Village fault. Chapter 3 in this study evaluates seismic hazard within the basin as a result of earthquake rupture on the faults identified in the first part of this study. The Ground motions modeled using Nevada ShakeZoning, a physics-based method incorporating geotechnical information and basin shape determined from geophysical methods, peak ground velocity (PGV) maps considerably different (and more accurate) than those obtained from ShakeMap, a standard USGS tool for ground motion estimation. Although ShakeMap over-predicts ground shaking outside the Lake Tahoe basin, it substantially under-predicts ground motions within the basin. eWave propagation models indicate strong, sustained shaking in the basin, threatening several communities. Annual rates of exceedance maps show the higher rates of exceedance of key ground-motion levels strongly correlate with the basin shape. The purpose of this study is to provide both better ground motion estimates and more useful shaking maps to local communities. Chapter 4 begins the validation process of the models developed as part of Chapter 3 to events recorded at Nevada Seismological Laboratory seismic stations.

FALLON: THE OASIS OF NEVADA (SMALL TOWNS, MILITARY, RECLAMATION PROJECTS, AGRICULTURAL COMMUNITIES)

ANDREW, PATRICIA SHINER UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, RENO. 1998 국내박사

Geochemistry of naturally occurring arsenic in the Humboldt River Basin, Nevada

Mohammad, Shahnewaz University of Nevada, Reno 2013 해외박사(DDOD)

The geochemistry of naturally occurring arsenic (As) has been investigated in the surface waters and ground waters of the shallow alluvial aquifers of the Humboldt River Basin (HRB) in northern Nevada using laboratory experiments, geochemical reaction path modeling, and statistical analysis methods. A total of 15 surface water samples and 19 sediment samples were obtained from the Humboldt River and river-bottom sediments in the field in September, 2007. The ground water data from 72 wells, selected from a total of 47,500 samples from 18,800 springs and wells, in the HRB and northern Nevada were obtained from a public domain database provided by the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology. Concentrations of dissolved As in the waters of the Humboldt River (HR) range from 0.012 to 0.066 mg/L, with an average of 0.032 mg/L. The concentrations of As in shallow alluvial ground waters range up to 0.55 mg/L with an average of 0.06 mg/L. The current Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) maximum contaminant level (MCL) of As is 0.01 mg/L. The study of the distribution, sources, and processes controlling As in the Quaternary alluvial aquifers of the HRB and northern Nevada has found that the distribution of high As concentrations can be correlated with local and regional geology and geomorphology. The highest concentrations of As in the ground waters occur in the mineralized zones of metallic-sulfides around Boulder Valley, followed by the Quaternary playa deposits around Lovelock Valley and the Humboldt Sink, where evaporation predominates. Bi-variate correlations and factor analyses of the dissolved components in the ground water suggest that the sources of dissolved As are likely from dissolution of As-bearing sulfides, iron-oxyhydroxides, weathering of ferromagnesian silicates, and mixing with geothermal waters, where oxidation of As-bearing sulfides is a local source of As in the Boulder valley area. The statistical and geochemical analyses of the HR bed sediments suggest that oxidation of As-bearing sulfide minerals is the source for high dissolved As in the upstream area. Concentrations of dissolved As and other trace elements are affected by mixing with ground water inflows occurring as river base flows in the upper HR and middle HR areas. Mixing with high-As geothermal waters locally enriches As near known areas of geothermal hot springs. Evaporation further enriches As in lower reaches of the river. Sequential extraction analyses of the river sediments demonstrate that As is mostly (83%) bound to the residual fraction which contains silicate minerals, and a lesser amount of As (13%) is held by iron-oxyhydroxides. The results of geochemical reaction path modeling indicate that oxidation of As-bearing sulfide minerals plays the most important role for source of As and sulfate in the upstream region with approximately 3.75 mmoles (449 ppm) of pyrite and 6.88 x10 -4 mmoles (0.11 ppm) of arsenopyrite oxidized per liter of river water. The acidity produced by the oxidation of sulfide minerals is buffered by carbonate equilibria as a result of dissolution of Pre-Cenozoic carbonate rocks in the country rocks of the upstream region. Modeling results demonstrate that the source of As from oxidation of sulfide minerals is less significant in the downstream, where mixing with shallow ground water inflows and local geothermal spring water control the enrichment of dissolved As. The effects of evapo-transpiration further control the dissolved As concentrations in the lower HR waters. The process of sorption-desorption, which is pH-dependent, is less significant in the HR unlike many other similar semi-arid environments, and needs further evaluation.