Readership Map
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About the Collection
The Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) provides students with the opportunity to present their research at three annual undergraduate research symposia. This collection contains slides from student lightning talks.
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Private Military Contractors: Assessing Their Impact on U.S. Military Effectiveness and Ethical Standards
Otabek Akromov
5-2-2025Background & Objectives:
- Scale of outsourcing: >180,000.00 troops
- Major providers: Blackwater and DynCorp •
- Research focus: magnitude of impact
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Household Food Insecurity and Its Impact on Feeding Practices in Hispanic Families of Young Children: A Scoping Review
Miriam Alvarez
11-21-2025Household Food Insecurity and Its Impact on Feeding Practices in Hispanic Families of Young Children: A Scoping Review Abstract: Household food insecurity disproportionately affects Hispanic families in the United States and may influence parental feeding practices associated with early childhood obesity. While existing research suggests a relationship between food insecurity and non-responsive feeding practices, the specific impact within Hispanic households is limited. This scoping review explores this gap in the literature and synthesizes current evidence on how current food insecurity impacts the feeding practices among Hispanic parents of children aged 0-5 years old in the United States. Following the PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis extension for Scoping Reviews) guidelines and the PCC (Population, Concept, and Context) framework, the review examines studies published between 2015 and 2025 across databases including PubMed, CINAHL, and Scopus. Preliminary findings from reviewed studies suggest that food insecurity may be associated with increased use of emotional feeding practices such as food restriction and using food as a reward, while some studies indicate indirect effects mediated by parental stress and cultural factors. The relationship appears complex and shaped by additional socioeconomic and cultural contexts. The findings highlight the need for further research among this underserved population to address both food access and parenting behaviors to improve child health outcomes.
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Extremely Low-Income Renter Households in the Mountain West, 2023
Anthony Arroyo and Yiselle Olivas Ruiz
11-21-2025Our presentation, based on research conducted with Brookings Mountain West here at UNLV, will focus on the number of extremely low-income renter households, affordable and available rental homes, and associated cost burdens that renters face in the five Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. We will present data from our recently-published fact sheet, “Extremely Low-Income Renter Households in the Mountain West, 2023,” which derives data from the 2025 National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) report, “The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Rental Homes.” which reported annual rental housing shortages in the United States. We will present a data table containing the following data points for each Mountain West state: the number of extremely low-income households the number of affordable and available rental homes per 100 extremely low income renter households, and the percentage of extremely low-income renters with severe cost burdens Our research illuminates two key takeaways about Nevada: In 2023, Nevada (17 rental homes per 100 renters) recorded the lowest number of “affordable and available” rental homes for “extremely low-income renter households” in the nation; In 2023, Nevada (86%) recorded the highest percentage of “extremely low-income renter households” with “severe cost burden” in the nation. These key findings highlight that extreme lack of available, affordable rental properties in Nevada and throughout the Mountain West. The data will inform the public and policymakers on the extent of the rental housing crisis in our state and region.
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The Silent Concert: The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Heist, 35 Years Later
Lauren Beals
11-21-2025Beals, Lauren. 2025. The Silent Concert: The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Heist, 35 Years Later. UNLV Undergraduate Law Review. Background and objectives: In March of 1990, thieves stole 13 pieces of artwork from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. This study strives to discern a proper punishment for the elusive culprits of the Gardner Museum Heist, and highlight the importance of missing cultural property. Methods and approach: This study relies on the testimony of the United Nations in their 1970 "Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer… of Cultural Property,” along with that of Robert K. Wittman, founder of the Federal Bureau of Invesitgation’s (FBI’s) Art Crime Team to determine the ideal result of this heist, 35 years after it’s occurance. Results: According to UNESCO’s 1970 convention, which America accepted, the unlawful removal of artwork from the Gardner museum constitutes punishment and diminishes the nation’s possession of cultural property. Yet, the paintings are still missing, and experts like Wittman are only left to speculate on the whereabouts of some of America’s most valuable pieces of cultural property. Conclusions & broader implications: These findings suggest that America’s best option concerning the heist would be to remember and recirculate information about the event. Companies like Google and Wikipedia have led this movement in their detailed documentations of the heist, and their efforts to redesign the paintings in virtual exhibits and produce high-resolution variants for anyone with internet access to enjoy.
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Sweet Snacks Effects on Hispanic/Latino Childhood Obesity
Lemlen Belete and Brisa Rodriguez Alcantar
5-2-2025Background:
Obesity rates in children has become a growing concern in the Hispanic/Latino community in Nevada. This study examines the availability of sweet snacks in the home and its association with children's dietary behavior.
Methods:
Data was analyzed from a survey of 155 Latina mothers using logistic regression while controlling for income, education, and acculturation. The survey was conducted in Nevada, between October 2022 and March 2024.
Results:
The frequency of keeping sweets in the home was significantly associated with children's consumption of various sweets. For every increase in keeping sweets at home, the odds of children consuming: • Chocolate and other candy increased by 67% (p < 0.01) • Muffins/donuts increased by 40% (p < 0.05) • Cookies, cakes, pies, and other desserts increased by 49% (p < 0.01)
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Perception of Emotion in Autism with Controlled Elicitation (PEACE)
Austin Gillespie and Rachel E. DeWald
11-21-2025It is possible that autistic people find it easier to socialize within their own peer group (Beaupré & Hess, 2006), by recognizing socio-emotional nonverbal cues, due to a shared neurodivergence. To assess this, it would be helpful for researchers to have a database of emotional stimuli, validated for use with autistic individuals. Unfortunately, this does not exist. This current study’s objective is to create such a database that evokes natural emotion, rated by autistic individuals to be used in future research. All participants completed the Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) which measures the participants’ ability to identify and describe their own emotions (Taylor et al., 2003), the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale to ensure participants are answering authentically (Crowne & Marlowe, 1960), and the SRS-2 scale which indicates the participants’ social ability (Constantino et al., 2003). Participants watched 45 short videos (Ack Baraly, 2020) chosen to elicit either a positive, negative, or neutral reaction. After each video, participants reported emotional responses using the Affect, Anxiety, Pride, and Energy (AAPE) scale (Riccio, 2020). Preliminary analysis included 70 participants. 41% of participants scored above the SRS-2 clinical cutoff. Participants' videos were then clustered using k-means, based on the ratings and SRS-2 scores. Results reveal both overlap and nonintersecting responses between participants above and below the SRS-2 cutoff..The next step is to use hierarchical analysis within each k-means cluster, allowing exploration of the variability. Further insight on these differences will allow production of a video database labeled with the emotions they evoke in autistic participants.
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A Pill Too Expensive: A Comprehensive Review for Exploring Medical Non-Adherence in the Age of Rising Drug Prices
Vidhani Goel and Roberto Sagaribay
5-2-2025Prevalence & Health Disparities:
- Medication non-adherence is a major public health issue.
- High prescription drug costs are a significant barrier.
- Affects chronic conditions like diabetes, hypertension, and mental health disorders.
Potential Solutions:
- Patient assistance programs.
- Use of generic drugs.
- Policy reforms to reduce medication costs.
Future Directions & Solutions:
- Address research gaps in long-term outcomes.
- Explore broader policy interventions.
- Improve accessibility and awareness of assistance programs.
Contributing Factors:
- Leads to worse health outcomes.
- Increases hospitalizations and long-term healthcare costs.
- Affects vulnerable populations (i.e., elderly, uninsured, racial minorities)
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The Emotional Climate Crisis: An Integrative Review of Mental Health Outcomes from Climate-Related Disasters
Vidhani Goel and Roberto Sagaribay
11-21-2025Introduction: Climate change is a planetary and public health crisis. Between 2000 and 2019, over 1.2 million deaths and 4 billion individuals were affected by climate-related disasters. These events often impact mental health. This integrative review synthesizes evidence on mental health outcomes particularly post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and eco-anxiety among populations affected by climate disasters. Methods: Using Whittemore and Knafl’s five-stage framework, this integrative review is in the preliminary analysis stage. A systematic search will be conducted for peer-reviewed studies published globally from January 1995 to March 2024. Eligible studies include quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods research on mental health outcomes linked to climate-related disasters. Preliminary Results: Ten studies were included, focusing on wildfires (California), hurricanes (Florida, Puerto Rico), floods (South Korea), and tornadoes (U.S.). PTSD was frequently reported, with prevalence ranging from 10.2% to 83%. For example, six months post-wildfires in California, the mean PTSD score was 26.68 (SD 19.50). After Hurricane Maria, PTSD was 30.3% in high-impact areas versus 12.5% elsewhere. Anxiety affected 49.1% of hurricane survivors and had a mean score of 7.09 (SD 5.65) in wildfire survivors. Eco-anxiety and solastalgia were noted in two studies (Australia, UK), especially among youth. Depression appeared in eight studies. Symptoms often persisted beyond one year, especially among children and low-income populations. Key risk factors included direct exposure, displacement, low socioeconomic status, female gender, and pre-existing mental illness. Conclusion: Climate-related disasters significantly impact mental health. Integrating mental health into climate resilience and public health strategies is urgently needed."
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Unseen and Underserved: A Narrative Review of Binge Eating and Binge-Eating Disorder in Black Women
Vidhani Goel, Roberto Sagaribay, Kavya Gururaj, Laksh Ghai, and Akriti Kapoor
5-2-2025Prevalence & Health Disparities:
Black women engage in binge eating at similar or higher rates than White women. Lower diagnosis and treatment in black women.
Barriers to Treatment:
Limited access to mental health resources. Implicit bias in clinical settings. Lack of culturally tailored interventions.
Future Directions & Solutions:
Need for inclusive clinical research. Culturally responsive treatment models. Policy reforms to improve healthcare accessibility.
Contributing Factors:
Racial stress, trauma, and socioeconomic constraints. Food insecurity, stigma, and healthcare disparities.
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The Digital Economy and Equitable Access to Jobs in the Mountain West, 2023
Isabelle Graham
11-21-2025This fact sheet presents data from a Brookings Institution report, “The future of the US digital economy depends on equitable access to jobs,” which compares the share of 2023 employment in highly digital jobs among women and minority groups for select U.S. metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs). This fact sheet reports data for nine Mountain West MSAs: Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV; Albuquerque, NM; Colorado Springs, CO; Denver-Aurora- Lakewood, CO; Tucson, AZ; Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ; Salt Lake City, UT; Provo-Orem, UT; and Ogden- Clearfield, UT.
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Synthesis of Disulfide Triazole Phosphorus Fire Retardant via Photochemical Conditions
Jason Liu
11-21-2025The development of fire retardants is critical to enhancing fire safety and advancing fire science. The novel synthesis of a disulfide triazole phosphorus thiolacid fire retardant under photochemical conditions, along with relevant testing on plume generation performance, aims to answer our research goals.The proposed specific synthesis and conditions provide for a more efficient and environmentally greener route compared to conventional methods, utilizing photochemical click reactions. Furthermore, the addition of sulfur element to conventionally sole phosphorus-based FR reduces the chance of leaching by increasing the molecular weight of the compound and overcoming the obstacle of low molecular weight problems while also gaining higher thermal stability. By pairing the favorable properties of phosphorus, sulfur, and triazole, an effective and environmentally friendlier fire retardant can be created.
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Contribution of Various Factors On the Rate of Traffic Accidents in the Us
Martin Mnatsakanyan
5-2-2025Background:
Until 2020, the number of traffic accidents has been steadily decreasing. After 2020, the number started increasing until 2022, then started s lowly decreasing again. Most drivers aren’t fully aware of the reason behind all of these accidents.
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Inflammaging and Cognitive Decline: A Brief Review of the Chronic Low-Grade Neural Inflammation Hypothesis
Gage Pompa
11-21-2025This presentation reviews the chronic low‑grade neural inflammation hypothesis as a mechanism linking aging to cognitive decline. Inflammaging refers to persistent, low‑level inflammation that develops with age due to immune dysregulation in the absence of infection. In the brain, this process is often triggered by the accumulation of beta‑amyloid plaques and phosphorylated tau tangles. Microglia attempt to clear these proteins, but their prolonged activation releases inflammatory mediators that damage surrounding neurons. Over time, this sustained neural inflammation contributes to neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, epilepsy, and psychiatric disorders including schizophrenia and major depression. Imaging markers like TSPO highlight elevated inflammation in vulnerable regions, such as the hippocampus in amnestic Alzheimer’s disease. As the U.S. population ages and the proportion of older adults grows, understanding inflammaging has increasing public‑health significance. Clarifying how chronic neural inflammation develops—and how it might be slowed or prevented—could reduce the burden of age‑related cognitive disorders on families, caregivers, and healthcare systems.
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Climate Change and Its Effects on Maternal Mental Health
Sara Cordero
11-22-2024Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns primarily caused by human activities, which have facilitated more climate crises, such as floods, wildfires, hurricanes, etc. They tend to have the greatest effect on vulnerable populations, such as women and children. This study is aimed to view how climate change-related environmental stressors impact the mental health and well-being of mothers. A scoping literature review approach was used by analyzing scientific databases (i.e. APA-Psycinfo, Scopus, PRIMO) to find peer-reviewed papers that studied the effects of extreme weather events and climate change on maternal mental health. Results suggest that hurricanes, bushfires, and floods were the three main causes of poor maternal mental health. Two standout natural disasters that were most traumatic to the participants are Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Louisiana and the Fort McMurray, Canada wildfire. Mothers who were evacuated from Fort McMurray had greater distress and more severe PTSD-like symptoms while Hurricane Katrina victims experienced a rise in food insecurity. The majority of these women were low-income minorities and over half reported an annual household income of <$15,000. A disproportionate number of these participants also experienced symptoms of depression, PTSD, and scored much higher on pregnancy-related anxiety/perceived stress surveys. Overall, there is little to no discussion of how the current climate crisis impacts maternal mental health. Eco- and climate anxiety are negatively affecting maternal mental health of women worldwide and more awareness must be brought to how it is an emerging threat to mothers as a whole.
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Autonomous Driving Trajectory Prediction
Carlos Funes
11-22-2024Autonomous driving is undoubtedly one of the world's most revolutionary technologies, opening the door to a more secure traffic environment. This innovation has led to vehicles being able to drive by themselves without the necessity of a person behind the wheel, as well as cruise control, lane-keeping assist, and automatic emergency braking. Unfortunately, there is still plenty of work before autonomous driving becomes more popular among drivers. While at UNLV as an undergraduate student/research assistant, one of my goals is to learn how these technologies work to bring ideas into the automotive industry by refining solutions to problems within these mechanisms. As for now, my task has been to explore how an autonomous vehicle functions under trajectory prediction. This is done by creating a dataset for algorithm training and testing it by annotating twenty-second sequences using lidar point cloud data. The goal is to evaluate prediction model performance and visualize its results for a more advanced/precise self-drivable vehicle experience. Ultimately, wouldn't it be plausible to reduce the amount of stress linked with the dangers presented due to how distracted people behave on the road nowadays? Therefore, autonomous driving provides the possibility for public roads to minimize it.
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Exploring Mental Health Providers' Willingness to Integrate Digital Applications for Gen-Z Students
Chanlinee Karawek
11-22-2024Mental health services have expanded significantly throughout recent years, alongside the virtualization of said services since the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, digital mental health applications (DMHAs) are now widely available. Generation-Z college students are a demographic that both grew up with this technology and is associated with a high risk of mental illness development during their time in higher education. Integration of familiar technology and necessary mental health services could potentially help address their unique psychological needs. This study explores mental healthcare providers’ perspectives on incorporating DMHAs into their therapy services to Gen-Z college students. An anonymous survey was distributed to 20 mental health professionals and their views on technology in their practice. Data was then analyzed using sentiment analysis, a machine learning technique that determines whether a participant’s opinion had a positive, negative, or neutral sentiment. Preliminary findings reveal that approximately 45% of sentiments were positive, 33% were negative, and 22% were neutral. While professionals expressed willingness to integrate a certain degree of technology into their practice, there were still concerns raised regarding ethics, confidentiality, technological challenges for both patients and providers, and potential disruptions to the therapeutic relationship. These findings suggest that although DMHAs can offer potential benefits to the patient, issues related to confidentiality, ethics, and technological competency may limit widespread adoption in mental health practices.
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Alternatives to Screen Time Given in Parenting Advice
Emma Romeo
11-22-2024Screen time within the last decade is an area of rising interest, especially in a "Post-Covid" world. Despite a diversity of opinions being written and research being done on screen time, what is being presented as an alternative is lesser known. In this research, the aim is to identify types of activities that are presented to parents as alternatives' to screen time in parenting websites and blogs. This study uses qualitative content analysis of over 240 articles from 2019-2023 mentioning media use or screen time from two regularly consumed and popular parenting websites, Sheknows.com and Parents.com. The data so far shows three main types of alternatives are being presented. Productivity which includes chores, mediation and brain-teasers. Physical, this being activities like biking, hiking, sports, and physical games like tag. The last being enrichment, including hobby skills like painting and sewing but also DIY science projects and recycling. The popularity and frequencies of some suggestions over others hint at bigger inaccessibility for parents within online communities and highlight struggles in the lack of options for poor and disabled parents. It also raises implications and distinctions of off and online activities and their overall contributions to children's wellbeing. This paper hopes to further the understanding of online parental advice on topics of screen time and media use, in tandem with the off-line alternatives that websites suggest.
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It's Not as Bad as You Think: Detecting AI-Generated Voices
Yong Qin Xu
11-22-2024Advances in machine learning have opened up the world to a brand new frontier of fraudulent phone calls which the average person may not be in any way prepared for. From imitations of a loved one's voice to lifelike mimicry of human callers, telephone scams may become harder than ever to anticipate or prevent now that criminals have the help of AI on their side. This is why in my research paper, I aim to analyze and compare two existing methods of detecting the authenticity of human voice recordings in order to demonstrate and explain currently available technology that's capable of combating the potential threat of AI-generated scam calls. The paper aims to review previously published literature on the technologies used for voice authenticity detection, and describe how these technologies function in a way that novice students or even lay people can understand. The main goal of the paper would not be to condemn the use of AI technology all together but rather to demonstrate lesser-known tech in the machine learning field that's capable of assuaging fears common people may have about the future of AI. Currently, the paper compares the raw audio waveform analysis used by the RawNet2 neural network against a simple MFCC detection program meant for voice recognition, highlighting the principles behind their functionalities and their respective margins of error. The paper's analysis is aimed to highlight the conclusion that with these existing technologies, the future threat of AI-generated scam calls is not unavoidable.
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A literature review of the City Beautiful movement and the 1905 San Francisco Plan by Daniel Burnham
Miguel Baluyut
4-28-2023Highlight themes, build a foundation for future research, identify research gaps and topics of inquiry. Previous literature review of the most heavily cited and influential studies on the City Beautiful movement and Daniel Burnham's significance in the movement.
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Do Children Experience the Speech to Song (STS) Illusion?
Brooke Booth and Rodica Constantine
4-28-2023How development may alter perception. How musical and linguistic abilities develop. Top-down knowledge and its effects on perception. Potential diagnostic properties.
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The Perfect Storm: Behavioral Finance in the Face of the Covid-19 Pandemic
Aubrey Bucher and Kirk Silvernail
12-1-2023US Stock Market Volatility 2020. Prevalent Behavioral Biases: Loss Aversion, Self-Attribution, Anchoring, Herd Behavior.
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Analysis of Triton CG 110 Foaming Characteristics for use as a potential Fire Suppressant
Addison Cobb and Jeremy Cho
12-1-2023Background: Per-FluoroAlkyls (PFAs) are incredibly stable molecules which do not biodegrade. These chemicals have been linked with a series of health issues and environmental problems.
Problem: PFAs have been identified in most drinking water supplies in the United States. Large Amounts of this is due to Aqueous Fire-Fighting Foams (AFFF’s), which contain PFAs, seeping into the groundwater supply.
Solution: While little can be done about PFAs currently in groundwater supplies, replacing PFA-based AFFFs with newer Eco-AFFFs can halt AFFF contamination, and maintain firefighting suppression.
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Intellectual Humility and Diversity
Emmanuel Gutierrez
4-28-2023Intellectual humility has many positive effects which include enhanced perspectives, collaboration & reduced bias, and continued learning & adaptability. Using a personal narrative about the application of intellectual humility, 3 goals will be possible: bringing awareness, increasing collaboration, and encouraging diversity.
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The Emergence of “The School Shooter” as a Category of Analysis
Rebecca Jimenez
12-1-2023Policy Recommendation: Creating a more inclusive campus, administrative checks, recognizing the signs of violence, ineffective school punishments, putting a stop to stereotypes.
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AI Integration in the Common Workplace: Beneficial or Harmful?
Logan Karen and Kirk Silvernail
12-1-2023Integrating AI in the Workplace: 77% of businesses are using or exploring AI. 35% of these companies are using AI. 42% of these companies are exploring AI.
Benefits: Productivity and efficiency improvements, daily workflow improvements, resource optimization, cost reduction, innovation.
Challenges: Job security, impact on mental health, psychological impact, ethical challenges.
The path to Ethical and Effective AI Integration: Involve and educate employees, monitor on a continuous bases, identify and manage risks, find a balanced approach.