Undergraduate Research Symposium Podium Presentations

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  Flexing in Popular Songs From 2024 - 2023

  Jasmine Ayon, Sky Romeo, Christian Casaerez, Alexa Adame, and Kesi Land

  5-2-2025

  Purpose:

  Music is a major agent of socialization. As an art form, music carries with it messaging and rhetoric capable of reaching people en masse. With this in mind, it is vital that we pay a careful eye to music in order to understand what messaging is reaching the public at large. This project is intended to build off of the current literature on music, rhetoric, and socialization by understanding what artists in music brag about - flex - as a means of gaining cultural capital.

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  Banking on Black: Black Banking And Financial Institutions in Historic Westside, Las Vegas

  Drewmel Darby

  5-2-2025

  Guiding Questions and Topic Interest:

  • What happened to the attempts to establish a black-owned bank on the Westside? Why did they fail?

  • In what ways did the black community engage with financial institutions?

  • How did black Las Vegans view their fiscal autonomy post-integration of Las Vegas in the 1960s?

  • How does understanding the community’s history with banking better our understanding of it’s condition in the present?

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  Disability and Food Insecurity Among Senior Adults in Southern Nevada

  Allister Dias

  5-2-2025

  How does having a disability affect your ability to consistently access enough food?

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  The Influence of Money in Politics

  Aminata Dieng

  5-2-2025

  Money plays a powerful role in shaping political outcomes by significantly influencing who gets elected and which policies are prioritized. Campaign financing, which includes donations from individuals, corporations, and Political Action Committees (PACs), often determines a candidate's visibility, resources, and ability to compete effectively. Those with greater financial backing tend to dominate media coverage and reach more voters, which can tip the scales in elections.

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  Will Vegas Bet on Itself?

  Quintez Gatewood

  5-2-2025

  Abstract:

  • Las Vegas faces a serious dilemma post covid, whats next? After having been decimated with the shot to hospitality it nearly collapsed the city.
  • The question I am supposing is how do we prevent this?
  • Like any investor would suggest, diversify your portfolio to mitigate risk. So why hasn’t Vegas done this with the job market?
  • I seek to answer this by using models and illustrating how the outcome will be

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  Beyond the Nursery: Unraveling Maternal and Neonatal Factors Associated With NICU Admissions in Nevada (2015–2021)

  Vidhani Goel, Ana L. Reyes, Bertille Assoumou, Dodds P. Simangan, Farooq Abdulla, and Deborah A. Kuhls

  5-2-2025

  Overview

  This project focuses on investigating the relationship between maternal medical conditions, socioeconomic factors, and NICU admission levels among Medicaid beneficiaries in Nevada.

  Approach:

  •A retrospective analysis was conducted using linked data from the Birth Registry and Nevada Medicaid Claims from 2015 to 2021.

  •Infant records were analyzed using univariate and bivariate statistical methods, with a significance level set at 5%.

  •Logistic regression models were used to examine associations between maternal characteristics and NICU admission levels.

  Key Objectives:

  •Analyze NICU admission trends among Medicaid beneficiaries.

  •Identify maternal health risk factors linked to NICU admissions.

  •Examine neonatal characteristics influencing NICU admissions.

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  Costing Care: Unpacking the Drivers of Medicaid Spending for NICU Admissions in Nevada

  Vidhani Goel, Ana L. Reyes, Bertille Assoumou, Dodds P. Simangan, Farooq Abdulla, and Deborah A. Kuhls

  5-2-2025

  Overview This study examines how maternal and neonatal factors influence Medicaid spending for NICU admissions in Nevada, with an emphasis on identifying cost-driving health disparities. Approach: A retrospective analysis was conducted using linked data from Nevada’s Birth Registry and Medicaid claims (2015–2021). Infant records were analyzed using univariate and bivariate statistics, and logistic regression models identified associations between maternal/neonatal characteristics and above-median Medicaid spending. Cost trends were assessed using NICU case costs, annual growth rates, and year-to-year fluctuations. Key Objectives: Analyze trends in NICU-related Medicaid spending over a seven-year period. Identify maternal and neonatal characteristics linked to higher NICU costs. Examine how prenatal care, maternal health risks, and socioeconomic status affect spending outcome

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  Analyzing Healthcare as a Right, Instead of a Privilege

  Saidt Gutierrez

  5-2-2025

  Healthcare is a fundamental necessity, yet in many countries including the United States, it remains a privilege rather than a right. This research examines the benefits of universal healthcare by analyzing its impact in countries that have successfully implemented healthcare such as Canada, the United Kingdom, and Germany. This study evaluates the healthcare accessibility, cost efficiency, and health outcomes in these countries against the U.S. This finding will suggest that universal health care leads to lower overall healthcare costs, improve public health, and reduce financial burdens on individuals. By ensuring healthcare as a right, rather than a privilege, the U.S would enhance its economic stability and societal well being. This research will support the argument that adopting a universal health care model will create a more efficient healthcare system.

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  High Stakes & High Heels: The Economic Potential of Merging Gambling With Gentlemens Clubs

  Anthony Hernandez and Tony Nohmy

  5-2-2025

  Purpose:

  • Vegas used to be “Vegas”
  • Gambling Hotspot
  • Lost the “magic”
  • On Property Gentlemen’s Clubs
  • Similar to property exclusive restaurants or nightclubs

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  To Use or to Not: Differentiating Artificial Intelligence Content for Different Industries

  Dayanna Jauregui

  5-2-2025

  Introduction:

  ❖ Some designers say AI helps boost creativity, new ideas, and overall work efficiency.

  ❖ The fashion brand Collina Strada received backlash for using AI-made prints.

  ❖ By 2030, AI data centers in the U.S. may use 323 terawatt-hours of electricity — a huge increase in power demand.

  ❖ Over 200 artists in the music industry are pushing back against AI, saying it hurts human creators’ rights.

  ❖ AI tools have been caught using artists’ work without permission to train image generators.

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  Impact of Remote Work on Wages in Nevada’s Labor Force

  Lauren Tomlinson, Sean Atias, Renato Salazar, and Ezrah Tayag

  5-2-2025

  Remote Work Evolution and COVID-19

  • In 2019, 7% of full paid workdays were done remotely. During the pandemic, that number substantially grew to 60%, and by 2023 it shrunk down to 28%. Elements of remote work have even spread to multiple industries such as healthcare, finance, and education (Barrero et al., 2023).
  • Direct relationship between self-perceived job performance and remote work productivity. However, living with children under 18 negatively impacts remote work engagement and productivity (Toscano & Zappalá, 2021).
  • Remote work can be associated with increases in Total Factor Productivity (TFP). Between 2019 and 2021, a 1% increase in the share of remote workers was associated with a 0.08% increase in TFP growth (Pabilonia & Redmond, 2024).
  • Employment loss in STEM was noticeably lower during the pandemic compared to other fields. The greater feasibility of remote working within STEM occupations compared to other fields may have contributed to this result (Davis et al., 2021).

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  Surviving and Thriving on the Gold-Capped Mountain; the Entrepreneurial Sucessess of Chinese Women in Early Nevada

  Madison Campbell

  11-22-2024

  As a result of shifts in historical methodologies, women’s history began to rise in prominence but only recently have historians shifted their focus to specific marginalized groups. Chinese women in Nevada at the turn of the 20th century are noteworthy due to their entrepreneurial successes in a time of rampant discrimination, yet have not been discussed in the literature as a collective. By analyzing the impacts of anti-Chinese legislation, public commentary in newspapers and political cartoons, and first-hand accounts of Chinese women from the region during the period this project develops an untold narrative. Secondary material provides further claims on the existence and significance of the female Chinese population in early Nevada. This project is based on the works of Sue Fawn Chung about the ethnic group in Nevada and in the West. Results show that the way in which Chinese women in Nevada occupied certain labor niches was due largely in part to the unique backdrop of the state’s policies towards aliens and the nature of Nevada’s economy. While most Chinese women are reduced to their roles as "working girls" in Nevada mining towns, there is evidence that they were actually successful, hard-working women despite the overwhelming historiography and primary source material that claims the contrary. These findings suggest that by studying the multiple facets of Chinese women's opportunities during this period there is value in identifying the gendered differences experienced by an immigrant group, labor being one of many lenses of which to investigate such important distinctions.

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  Improving Healthcare Utilization Models and Uncovering Health Behavior Patterns in Asian Americans Through Data Disaggregation

  Luke Cho

  11-22-2024

  Although Asian Americans are made up of 20+ distinct ethnicities with unique health outcomes, previous healthcare research has treated them as a monolithic group, covering up many important disparities in health outcomes and healthcare utilization patterns. This study examines how disaggregating Asian American health data by ethnicity improves models analyzing healthcare utilization patterns, focusing on routine physicals, dental checkups, alternative medicine consultations, and preference for ethnic concordance.

  Using data from the 2015 Asian American Quality of Life survey (2,609 adults in Austin, Texas), binomial generalized linear models (GLMs) analyzed the impact of income, age, gender, insurance status, and ethnicity on healthcare utilization. Model comparison via Bayesian Information Criterion and analysis of deviance revealed that disaggregating ethnic subgroup data significantly improved predictions for routine physicals (ΔBIC = -3.38), dental checkups (ΔBIC = -28.53), and alternative medicine consultations (ΔBIC = -24.26).

  Results showed Vietnamese individuals were 57% more likely to get a physical check-up than Chinese counterparts (OR = 1.57), while Koreans were less likely to undergo physicals (OR = 0.60) or dental checkups (OR = 0.66). Filipinos also had lower odds of using alternative medicine (OR = 0.45).

  These results highlight key healthcare utilization differences between Asian American ethnicities and the importance of disaggregating Asian American health data to address disparities in healthcare access. Improved performance of statistical models can better inform targeted interventions and promote health equity for all Asian Americans. Future research could look at other regions with substantial Asian American populations and examine factors like acculturation.

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  Maternal Substance Use and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Admission Among Medicaid Beneficiaries: A State-wide Audit

  Vidhani Goel, Ana L. Reyes, Bertille Assoumou, Dodds P. Simangan, Farooq Abdulla, Megumi Akiyama, Deborah A. Kuhls, and Kavita Batra

  11-22-2024

  Introduction: Mounting evidence suggested a strong association between maternal substance abuse and poor neonatal outcomes. This study aims to investigate an association between maternal substance abuse and NICU admissions and transitions in the LOC among newborns who were Medicaid beneficiaries.

  Methods: A hybrid linkage approach was utilized to link two datasets (Birth Registry and Nevada Medicaid Claims) spanning 2015-2021 with nearly 85% linkage efficiency. The infant records were analyzed using univariate and bivariate statistical methods with significance level set at 5%.

  Results: A total of 84,181 infant records were identified, of which 70,817 (84.1%) admitted to a single LOC during their entire course of hospitalization and remaining 13,364 (15.9%) had the multiple transitions in the LOC. A significantly larger proportion of infants with multiple transitions in the LOC had mothers with a history of consuming tobacco (9.1% vs. 5.9%), cigarettes (8.8% vs. 5.8%), drugs (33.8% vs. 19.9%, and prescription drugs (24.6% vs. 14.5%) as opposed to their well-born nursery care infants p<0.001). Of 70,817 infants admitted to the single LOC, nearly 4% were admitted to the higher NICU levels (0173 and 0174). Among these babies, infants admitted to the higher level of care (e.g. intermediate and NICU) were born to mothers with a history of substance abuse as opposed to those receiving the routine care.

  Conclusion: The positive association between maternal substance use and NICU admissions underscore the need of developing harm reduction strategies in perinatal settings to improve health outcomes of mother-infant dyads.

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  Socioeconomic Relations in Post-Soviet Spaces

  Ariana Khzarjyan

  11-22-2024

  This research focuses on post-Soviet spaces and the entanglement of political movements that often lead to intense struggles between democratic aspirations and authoritarian tendencies. Although, this research is hyperfocused on Armenia and analyzes political movements that oppose the current pro-democracy government. This study aims to identify and categorize movements, evaluate their democratic and anti-democratic sentiments, and compare them with similar movements that occurred in other post-Soviet countries such as Georgia and Ukraine. This study provided insights into the political landscape and underlying motivations by conducting qualitative field research in Armenia. The specific question to help guide this research is: What are the characteristics and motivations of political movements opposing the current pro-democracy government in Armenia, and how do these movements reflect democratic and anti-democratic sentiments in comparison to similar movements in the post-Soviet space, particularly in Georgia and Ukraine? This research began with a literature review of existing academic works on political movements in the post-Soviet space, with a particular focus on Armenia. This included studying foundational texts like Patronal Politics and Georgia: A Political History Since Independence and analyzing relevant documentaries to identify research gaps. Qualitative field research was then conducted in Armenia, gathering data through interviews, participant observation, and analysis of political discourse. The findings in this research suggest that political movements in Armenia reflect a variety of democratic aspirations and authoritarian tendencies that can be shaped by neighboring countries.

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  The Correlations Between Students' Academic Success and the Various Modes of Attendance

  LeWana-Nani LeBaron

  11-22-2024

  The increased demands on students’ time and effort imposed by their academic and personal environments have prompted many to explore alternative avenues for attending classes. This study sought to determine the existence of a correlation between the different modes of classroom attendance and students’ academic success. The research detailed within this report examined the attendance of four undergraduate statistics classes with 111 participants. Students were incentivized to complete an attendance survey, indicating whether they attended in person, virtual live streaming, or viewed the recorded lecture at a later time. Students who did not respond to the survey or were absent from the lecture were categorized as ‘No Response.’ The data revealed significant correlations between how students attend class and their success in the class with the group attending via virtual live streaming being marginally significant. The ‘No Response’ group exhibited a negative correlation with academic performance in the class, representing the strongest correlation observed. This suggests that the ability to attend classes asynchronously and via virtual attendance could potentially hinder students' academic performance. Addressing this challenge in education is pertinent for future learners. It may prompt necessary reforms within the educational system, creating new opportunities to enhance students' motivation and comprehension of essential material. Moreover, the increase in online meetings across various professional fields underscores the potential to improve efficiency, knowledge, and, consequently, motivation by appropriately leveraging this knowledge.

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  Strangers to the Algorithm: the Effects of Algorithmic Decision-Making in Removal Proceedings on Due Process Rights

  Otoniel Ramos

  11-22-2024

  This paper investigates the impact of algorithmic decision-making tools on due process rights, particularly within immigration removal proceedings. Deviating from prior studies, which primarily focused on various measures of fairness or the long-term racial stratification as a consequence of these tools, this research emphasizes the implications for due process—a fundamental legal principle enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. By examining ICE's use of these tools between July 2012 (when they were adopted) and October 2016, the study reveals the ways algorithmic input may inadvertently erode principles of procedural justice, especially adjudicatorial independence, in a setting where the rights of non-citizens are already under significant strain. Through an analysis of FOIA-sourced ICE risk assessment data and detention rates, the study looks at the discretionary behavior of ICE field officers—as a proxy for independent decision-making—and how this behavior is affected by the adoption of algorithmic recommendations and subsequent updates to the algorithmic regime. The results indicate that updates to the algorithmic regimes employed by ICE Officers produced pronounced and sustained reductions in discretionary behavior, providing troubling evidence that the integration of these tools may unduly constrain officer judgment and erode the foundational principle of adjudicative independence within immigration proceedings.

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  Invertebrate Functional Diversity of Fossils From Arrow Canyon, Nevada

  Nathaniel Valentine

  11-22-2024

  Paleontology can be used to study how ecosystems evolve and respond to changes in the environment. Here we examine invertebrate fossils from the Pennsylvanian, a time period that ranged from 323.2 to 298.9 million years ago, which are preserved along the walls of Arrow Canyon (Nevada) in the Bird Spring Formation. We surveyed three sites within the canyon, and used data from the Paleobiology Database to create a list of taxa found on the canyon from this time interval. Although ecosystems have traditionally been studied using the composition of the ecosystem (the number of species), recent work has shown that functional structure may be more important to the health of an ecosystem. Therefore, here we examine functional diversity (the types of functions performed by all of the organisms in an ecosystem). Three functional traits were assigned to each taxon: tiering, feeding, and motility, using the Paleobiology Database and the scientific literature. We examined both how much of the functional space was filled, and how species were distributed within functional space using Functional Entities, unique combinations of functional traits. Brachiopods dominated the fossil samples, as the geologic setting favored the preservation of their shells. Other invertebrate phyla are represented, though their sample sizes are low. Further study on the functional diversity of the Bird Spring Formation may incorporate fossil data from other fossil localities to expand sample sizes at the genus level.

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  The Autocrat Influence on International Organization Design

  Zachary Billot

  12-1-2023

  Research Question: How do different regime types, namely autocracies, design international organizations (IO)?

  Summary of Results: Pooling and delegation generally have a positive correlation to increase in democracy. Pooling and Delegation generally have a negative correlation to average member state GDP. Social IOs Pool and Delegate more than political IOs compared to Economic IOS. Impact of # of Member States has a mixed effect: Fixed Effects models -, + in other models. Regional Impacts pronounced for Africa, Asia, Americas compared to Europe.

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  Determinants of Gun Violence in America

  Rick Fuller

  12-1-2023

  Gun violence is on the rise in America. 74.5% increase between 2014-2022. 55.2% increase in Gun Safety Legislation. Constitutional Carry adopted by 27 states. Suicide rates skew gun violence statistics.

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  The Association Between Parent-Adolescent Communication about Sex and Risk-Aware Sexual Health Knowledge in Latino College Students

  Jacquelyn Rodriguez

  12-1-2023

  Timing and Content of Parent-Adolescent Sex Communication: Puberty discussions as gateway to sex discussions (Miller et al., 2009; O’Sullivan et al., 2001), Abstinence-based (Grossman et al., 2013; Guilamo-Ramos et al., 2006), Shame, embarrassment, or fear (Goldfarb et al., 2015; O’Sullivan et al., 2001), Information guarding (Guilamo-Ramos et al., 2006; Rouvier et al., 2011).

  Gender, Cultural, and Religious Influences on Communication: Marianismo: “pure and asexual” (Wood & Price, 1997); Sex-negative talk vs. sex-neutral or positive talk (Evans et al., 2019; Guilamo-Ramos et al., 2019; Sevilla et al., 2016); Mothers are main communications with all genders (Guilamo-Ramos et al., 2019; Goldfarb et al., 2015)

  Rationale: Fastest-growing ethnic group: 23% increase since 2010; Large youth population. Higher rates of health disparities for negative sexual outcomes. Low rates of parent-adolescent sex communication (Hutchinson, 2004; O’Sullivan et al., 2002).

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  Sensitive Capacitance Measurements of the Quantum Hall Effect in Graphene

  Vergil Schreiber, Justin Alvarez, and Joshua Island

  12-1-2023

  Research on how electrons respond to confinement holds potential for breakthroughs in quantum computing and more energy efficient electronics. In intense magnetic fields and near-zero temperatures, electrons in confined to 2D display unique quantum behaviors. These conditions quantize electron motion into circular orbits, resulting in discrete Landau energy levels.

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  Education Gender Gaps in the Mountain West

  Miguel A. Soriano Ralston

  4-28-2023

  Discusses education gender gaps in the Mountain West using existing data. This data involves higher-education achievements, on-time graduations, and test scores for Math and English. Some possible causes for the gender gap are discussed as well as some policy recommendations.

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  A Scorpion's Sting: Coming-of-Age Vignettes Focalized on Modern Las Vegas Youth Culture

  Vlada Stark

  12-1-2023

  Explored themes: mother and daughter relationships, large immigrant community in Las Vegas, adolescent platonic and romantic relationships, hardships of girlhood, abundancy of sex work, increased substance abuse, importance of creative youth culture, disparity between Las Vegas as a city and local life.

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  Social Media: Factors that Impact Sports

  John Wilke

  4-28-2023

  Sports have been a popular form of entertainment for centuries and have become more refined over time. As new forms of sports entertainment emerges, various factors will play a significant role in how much a participant will earn. This study will focus on social media, specifically Instagram, and how it plays a role in total earnings.