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Title: CRYSTAL HEALING PRACTICES IN THE WESTERN WORLD AND BEYOND.
Creator: Carlos, Kristine D, Matejowsky, Ty, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Humans have been using crystals for various healing and ritual reasons for centuries. Both geographically and culturally, a diverse range of groups have turned to crystals and gemstones to address diverse needs over the millennia. While the oldest legends of crystal magic date back to the mythical ancient continent of Atlantis whose people allegedly used crystals for telepathic communication (Raphael 1985), it is believed that the crystal customs continued to perpetuate in Egypt, South...
Show moreHumans have been using crystals for various healing and ritual reasons for centuries. Both geographically and culturally, a diverse range of groups have turned to crystals and gemstones to address diverse needs over the millennia. While the oldest legends of crystal magic date back to the mythical ancient continent of Atlantis whose people allegedly used crystals for telepathic communication (Raphael 1985), it is believed that the crystal customs continued to perpetuate in Egypt, South America, and Tibet over subsequent centuries. Over recent decades, a renewed interest in crystals and gemstones has emerged in various New Age and mainstream contexts. In this thesis, I consider the 'explanations' for crystal and spiritual healing in the following interest areas: Great Britain, Indian Hinduism, and among various Native American groups.
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Date Issued: 2018
Identifier: CFH2000283, ucf:45883
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH2000283

Title: SWINE FLU, DRUG WARS, AND RIOTS: MEDIA AND TOURISM IN OAXACA, MEXICO.
Creator: Crosby, Joshua, Matejowsky, Ty, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This thesis examines how travelers evaluate and process mass media news stories about local events. Thanks to its colonial architecture, white sand beaches, and indigenous history, the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca receives millions of foreign and domestic visitors each year. Between 2006 and through 2009 Oaxaca has received a great deal of negative international media coverage, including stories of street riots, drug violence, and the fall out of the H1N1 flu virus. The overall impact of...
Show moreThis thesis examines how travelers evaluate and process mass media news stories about local events. Thanks to its colonial architecture, white sand beaches, and indigenous history, the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca receives millions of foreign and domestic visitors each year. Between 2006 and through 2009 Oaxaca has received a great deal of negative international media coverage, including stories of street riots, drug violence, and the fall out of the H1N1 flu virus. The overall impact of these unfavorable reports, and the resulting decline in the local tourism industry, has been predictable and severe. This thesis is based on anthropological research that I conducted in Oaxaca during June and July, 2009. I interviewed 26 American tourists about issues related to mass-media, personal travel experiences, and the interplay between international news coverage of local events and trip destination selection and planning. My research suggests that interviewees generally approach these media stories unfavorably and with a hefty sense of skepticism. Their reactions may reflect a wider trend in American society whereby mainstream and commercial mass media sources are viewed as increasingly untrustworthy or inaccurate
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Date Issued: 2010
Identifier: CFE0003226, ucf:48533
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003226

Title: ETHNOGRAPHIC REFLECTION ON GROUP FORMATION IN BLIZZARDÃ‚Â'S Ã‚Â"WORLD OF WARCRAFTÃ‚Â".
Creator: Spottke, John, Matejowsky, Ty, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Cyberanthropology or the anthropology of cyber space/culture is an emerging subfield of cultural anthropology that deals with the varied integration of human beings and technology. This specialized area of study focuses on topics ranging from new technologies used in ethnographic research to information and communication technologies utilized by specific societal groups. Communication technology encompasses the World Wide Web, email, and online multiperson interactive spaces such as chatrooms...
Show moreCyberanthropology or the anthropology of cyber space/culture is an emerging subfield of cultural anthropology that deals with the varied integration of human beings and technology. This specialized area of study focuses on topics ranging from new technologies used in ethnographic research to information and communication technologies utilized by specific societal groups. Communication technology encompasses the World Wide Web, email, and online multiperson interactive spaces such as chatrooms and video games. In this work, I ethnographically investigate human social interactions in the online gaming realm of World of Warcraft. On the whole, the expanding numbers of virtual communities in existence today offer new and exciting realms for social scientists in general, and anthropologists in particular, to expand their knowledge of social interaction. During the period between August 2007 and May 2009 I Ã‚Â"livedÃ‚Â" with the players of WoW as a participant observer. The culmination of this research spotlights virtual group formation and dynamics from an anthropological perspective and is intended to pave the way for future research.
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Date Issued: 2010
Identifier: CFE0003462, ucf:48393
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003462

Title: PUBS, PUNTERS, AND PINTS: ANTHROPOLOGICAL REFLECTIONS ON PUB LIFE IN IRELAND.
Creator: Cucchiara, Jason, Matejowsky, Ty, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Ireland is a country with a rich and unique cultural heritage. It is difficult to imagine that certain facets of Irish culture (e.g. Saint Patrick's Day, the Blarney Stone, or the Ring of Kerry) can ever be taken for granted since they are so widely recognized internationally. One common feature of Irish life that possibly warrants more scholarly attention is the public house or pub. Much has been written about pubs as quaint institutions in popular literature and fiction. Curiously, they...
Show moreIreland is a country with a rich and unique cultural heritage. It is difficult to imagine that certain facets of Irish culture (e.g. Saint Patrick's Day, the Blarney Stone, or the Ring of Kerry) can ever be taken for granted since they are so widely recognized internationally. One common feature of Irish life that possibly warrants more scholarly attention is the public house or pub. Much has been written about pubs as quaint institutions in popular literature and fiction. Curiously, they remain largely overlooked as vital aspects of Irish culture by anthropologists and others in the social sciences. In many ways, socio-cultural research on pub life in Ireland is woefully under examined. In an effort to better evaluate the significance of traditional pub life to Irish culture, my thesis seeks to integrate and critically assess the existing socio-cultural literature on Irish pub life. Such work will not only help highlight both the commonalities and discrepancies within this area of study, it will more significantly identify those areas of Irish pub life that can benefit from further academic investigation. Two recent trips to Ireland in September 2004 and May 2006, allowed me to observe important aspects of pub life first hand. It became apparent from these encounters that, like the history of Ireland itself, local pubs have a rich historical foundation. Many of the pubs that I visited have been in existence or operational since the Middle Ages. Based on this longevity, one can reasonably argue that pubs in Ireland function largely as locales of social significance and cultural reproduction, not just centers of recreational drinking. Using my travel experience as a starting point for the critical analysis phase of this thesis project, I have developed three general research questions that I will explore to varying degrees in the context of this work. These are: (1) what are the origins of pubs in Ireland?; (2) what explicit and implicit functions do pubs serve in Irish communities?; and (3) what possible developments are likely to affect Irish pubs in the near and distant future?
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Date Issued: 2009
Identifier: CFE0002578, ucf:48255
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002578

Title: GROWING LOCAL: ANTHROPOLOGICAL REFLECTIONS ON CURRENT CHALLENGES FACING CENTRAL FLORIDA ORGANIC FARMERS.
Creator: Swedlow, Cheney, Matejowsky, Ty, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This thesis considers Central FloridaÃ‚Â's emerging local food movement from an anthropological perspective. Area farmers and organizations spearheading this movement and the benefits of purchasing and consuming locally grown food are ethnographically explored. Interviews with natural and organic farmers highlight the challenges affected farmers face in creating a sustainable local food movement in the greater Orlando region. Their motivations for farming organically and...
Show moreThis thesis considers Central FloridaÃ‚Â's emerging local food movement from an anthropological perspective. Area farmers and organizations spearheading this movement and the benefits of purchasing and consuming locally grown food are ethnographically explored. Interviews with natural and organic farmers highlight the challenges affected farmers face in creating a sustainable local food movement in the greater Orlando region. Their motivations for farming organically and the counter-hegemonic tendencies inherent in this mode of cultivating are critically analyzed. Taken as a whole, this work addresses the limitations and opportunities afforded to farmers amid the popularity of local food consumption as a social movement. The farmers interviewed for this project are new to producing food for local consumption. They all share an interest in promoting financial and environmental sustainability for small farms. Key challenges they face include those grounded in access to arable land and agricultural policies that disproportionately favor large-scale producers. This research has significant implications for both those organizations and individuals building sustainable local food movements and those in local, state, and national government developing agricultural policy.
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Date Issued: 2010
Identifier: CFE0003110, ucf:48640
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003110

Title: Damned to Hell: The Black Church Experience for College Educated Lesbians, Gays, and Bisexuals.
Creator: Andrews, Edwanna, Gay, David, Grauerholz, Liz, Donley, Amy, Matejowsky, Ty, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Despite increased acceptance nationally towards same-sex sexuality, intolerance within the Black Church against those who identify as lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) continues to persist. As one of the most important institutions in the African American community, the significance of the Black Church makes the religious experience particularly influential. LGBs frequently experience homonegativity in the Black Church in the form of homophobic laced sermons, Microaggressions, and church...
Show moreDespite increased acceptance nationally towards same-sex sexuality, intolerance within the Black Church against those who identify as lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) continues to persist. As one of the most important institutions in the African American community, the significance of the Black Church makes the religious experience particularly influential. LGBs frequently experience homonegativity in the Black Church in the form of homophobic laced sermons, Microaggressions, and church gossip. The stigma LGBs encounter around homosexuality in the Black Church has created a dissonance between their religious beliefs, faith, and sexual identity. This study explores the multifaceted experience of lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals in Black Church. Drawing from the theoretical frameworks of Patricia Hill Collins' Intersectionality and Erving Goffman's stigma, this research focuses on how the intersections of one's religious and sexual identities is impacted and influenced by stigma experienced within the Black Church. This study is based on 14 in-depth interviews with lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals who attended the Black Church and reveals the complex relationship LGBs experience trying to integrate their religious and sexual identities. Additionally, participant narratives provides insight into the impact of homonegative stigma sexual minorities experience in the Black Church.
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Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: CFE0006714, ucf:51890
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006714

Title: A Sense of Place: Ethnographic Reflection on Two Palestinian Life Histories.
Creator: Barrett, Patrick, Howard, Rosalyn, Matejowsky, Ty, Janz, Bruce, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: There is a labyrinth of complex social connections between people and places that deserves careful anthropological reflection. People do not simply occupy places; they experience them, infusing them with life and social meaning. Basso (1996:53) argues that ethnography has reported little about the complex ways in which people are (")alive to the world around them.(") Anthropology is currently experiencing a resurging emphasis on place that seeks to account for its remarkably social features....
Show moreThere is a labyrinth of complex social connections between people and places that deserves careful anthropological reflection. People do not simply occupy places; they experience them, infusing them with life and social meaning. Basso (1996:53) argues that ethnography has reported little about the complex ways in which people are (")alive to the world around them.(") Anthropology is currently experiencing a resurging emphasis on place that seeks to account for its remarkably social features. Rather than primarily thinking about place when determining a location for fieldwork, emerging anthropological reflection shows the discipline is repositioning itself to explore the complex and often fantastic ways people experience, conceptualize, and confer meaning to their natural surroundings. In anthropology, the phrase (")sense of place(") captures these ideas. The phenomenological approach has emerged as the theoretical centerpiece for this effort, promising to open extraordinary new pathways for qualitative exploration.This thesis uses the life history methodology to explore how two female Palestinian immigrants to Central Florida experience and confer meaning to their ancestral homeland and place of birth. Data collected through a series of life history interviews highlight the texture of Palestinian senses of place, including the presence of what I describe as an eschatological sense of place.
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Date Issued: 2011
Identifier: CFE0004469, ucf:49312
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004469

Title: An Anthropological Case Study on the Impact of the "No Zero" Homework Policy on Teacher Culture in Two Central Florida Middle Schools.
Creator: Bolger, Mary, Howard, Rosalyn, Stewart, Martha, Matejowsky, Ty, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top are Federal educational policies that have evoked criticism from teachers and administrators. Both policies extended the federal government's reach into local education by tying federal funds to a school's student growth and teacher effectiveness. With an increasing emphasis on economic mechanisms such as choice and competition, teachers' effectiveness is now determined by standardized and quantifiable measurements. These policies have created a data...
Show moreNo Child Left Behind and Race to the Top are Federal educational policies that have evoked criticism from teachers and administrators. Both policies extended the federal government's reach into local education by tying federal funds to a school's student growth and teacher effectiveness. With an increasing emphasis on economic mechanisms such as choice and competition, teachers' effectiveness is now determined by standardized and quantifiable measurements. These policies have created a data driven and high stakes accountability culture within each school. Teachers are finding themselves in a new balancing act of recording quantifiable yearly progress for all students while trying to work against environmental factors that are out of their control. The rising trend to utilize a (")no zero(") homework policy under these new pressures merits investigation into its role within teacher culture and these current tensions. The recent call for anthropology to re-enter the classroom as a cultural site allows the researcher to provide context to the fluid relationships that often lead to the reproduction of or resistance against dominant ideology. Using the case study method, this ethnography employs the critical theory framework to examine policy impact on teacher culture and gain an understanding for how and why trends such as the (")no zero(") homework become a part of school policy. By looking at a (")school of choice(") and a traditional (")feeder middle school,(") this thesis gives context to how the local trends illuminate larger cultural shifts.
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Date Issued: 2013
Identifier: CFE0004975, ucf:49596
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004975

Title: Florida's Cattle Culture: Ethos and Enterprise in the Sunshine State.
Creator: Zellner, Corinne, Howard, Rosalyn, Matejowsky, Ty, Russo, Sandra, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Cattle ranching has been of major significance to Florida since the 16th century; however, few are aware of the historic, ecologic, economic and cultural influence of this industry. This study investigates the origins and impacts of the traditional customs and practices of Florida's cattle ranchers, who preserve and reinvent this rich heritage today. Ranchers live closely with the land and their animals and, due to the often-uncertain and cyclical nature of the business, must possess...
Show moreCattle ranching has been of major significance to Florida since the 16th century; however, few are aware of the historic, ecologic, economic and cultural influence of this industry. This study investigates the origins and impacts of the traditional customs and practices of Florida's cattle ranchers, who preserve and reinvent this rich heritage today. Ranchers live closely with the land and their animals and, due to the often-uncertain and cyclical nature of the business, must possess resourcefulness and initiative to prosper. The image of the stoic cowboy has long been associated with the American West, yet before longhorn cattle ever crossed the western plains, Florida frontiers were populated with herds of unique (")cracker(") cows, descendants of cattle left behind by early Spanish settlers. Like the West, Florida experienced conflicts between ranchers and other land claimants, issues that continue in the 21st century. Modern ranchers contend with developers, environmental concerns, and increasing regulation, yet they persevere in passing on their cultural heritage. Agricultural lifestyles can be emotionally fulfilling, but stewardship of land and animals can be stressful and labor-intensive. Motivation to continue these customs may be enhanced by identification with cowboys of popular American media, enhanced by physical immersion in a similar setting. Optimal agricultural practices have been well researched; however, anthropology provides a useful lens to examine customs and practices of Florida's cattle ranchers. Anthropologists have long been concerned with the dynamic relationship between human culture and the environment, examining how the physical landscape and ecological niches shape and are shaped by those who inhabit them. As globalized trade markets, technology, and economies expand, influencing agricultural practices and destroying natural habitats, diachronic studies of changing environments, economic and sociocultural influences in geographically bounded locales can be helpful in understanding this process. However, a key consideration is the fact that culture is not static, but ever changing, thus the most important aspects of tradition and heritage that we choose to retain and reinvent may provide the most telling insight into any society.
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Date Issued: 2012
Identifier: CFE0004290, ucf:49487
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004290

Title: Currency in Transition: An Ethnographic Inquiry of Bitcoin Adherents.
Creator: Fletcher, Justin, Matejowsky, Ty, Reyes-Foster, Beatriz, Sinelli, Peter, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The Internet and other telecommunications systems have reshaped the means by which markets are accessed, generated, and transformed. Recent innovations in computer science have led to the development of a virtually bound, decentralized, encrypted currency system known as bitcoin. Unlike conventional currency systems, the Bitcoin protocol is cryptologically defined with a virtual structure that allows it to simultaneously operate as currency, commodity, and market shaping socio-political force...
Show moreThe Internet and other telecommunications systems have reshaped the means by which markets are accessed, generated, and transformed. Recent innovations in computer science have led to the development of a virtually bound, decentralized, encrypted currency system known as bitcoin. Unlike conventional currency systems, the Bitcoin protocol is cryptologically defined with a virtual structure that allows it to simultaneously operate as currency, commodity, and market shaping socio-political force. Its decentralized design permits it to function as a free-market response to fiat currencies vulnerable to inflation, regulation, and manipulation. Given the cultural significance anthropologists and other social scientists have assigned to various modes and mediums of exchange over the years, the socio-economic impact of this novel currency system warrants particular consideration. This research describes the Bitcoin community that has emerged alongside the currency, including the entrepreneurs, developers, and consumers who are dedicated to bitcoin's perpetuation and acceptance as an internationally recognized medium of exchange. Ethnographic interviews and participant observation were utilized to collect information from users in the Central Florida area, detailing their experiences and interactions with the Bitcoin protocol and its associated community. This research provides new levels of anthropological insight into currency development, market interaction, and economically embodied social commentary. Moreover, its exploratory nature helps create a viable framework around which qualitative inquiry of virtual crypto-currencies may be designed in future studies.
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Date Issued: 2013
Identifier: CFE0004997, ucf:49550
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004997

Title: Crafting Craft Beer Brands: An examination of identity, community, and growth in Orlando area craft breweries.
Creator: Fehribach, Dylan, Matejowsky, Ty, Williams, Lana, Geiger, Vance, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Beer is a commodity that has been produced and consumed by humans for millennia. Within the U.S., the craft beer industry has grown considerably over the last decade, accounting for 19% of all beers sales in 2014. Despite this increased market presence, craft beer marketing and production has received little anthropological consideration. To address this dearth of case studies, I consider the local craft brewery scene, or area of activity, in Orlando Florida. My 2016 ethnographic research...
Show moreBeer is a commodity that has been produced and consumed by humans for millennia. Within the U.S., the craft beer industry has grown considerably over the last decade, accounting for 19% of all beers sales in 2014. Despite this increased market presence, craft beer marketing and production has received little anthropological consideration. To address this dearth of case studies, I consider the local craft brewery scene, or area of activity, in Orlando Florida. My 2016 ethnographic research reveals that the local craft brewery scene exhibits both variation in identity and community locations. Interactions among breweries present opportunities for local breweries to build and grow their brands. Collected data elucidate the choices and decisions that craft brewery operators consider when producing beer, developing facilities, and promoting their beers and brand images. I conclude that the breweries create brand identity and grow their customer base and distribution through planned decisions as well as reactionary choices based on outside events. Such considerations are relevant for understanding the formation of a business's identity and brand identity while producing a craftwork product, as well the communities of each brewery interact with communities outside of the specific scene.
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Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: CFE0006589, ucf:51267
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006589

Title: Dining with the Cyborgs: Disembodied Consumption and the Rhetoric of Food Media in the Digital Age.
Creator: Cotto, Maggie, Brenckle, Martha, Mauer, Barry, Scott, Blake, Matejowsky, Ty, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This project explores digital media productions based specifically on food and cooking in order to demonstrate that new communication technologies are increasingly incorporating all five of the bodily senses. In doing so, they contribute significantly to the emergence of new ideological apparatuses appropriate for a global community. These apparatuses (-) including the formation of a posthumanist subject, the use of technology to support embodied cognition, and the establishment of...
Show moreThis project explores digital media productions based specifically on food and cooking in order to demonstrate that new communication technologies are increasingly incorporating all five of the bodily senses. In doing so, they contribute significantly to the emergence of new ideological apparatuses appropriate for a global community. These apparatuses (-) including the formation of a posthumanist subject, the use of technology to support embodied cognition, and the establishment of entertainment as an ideological institution (-) have become the harbingers of a rhetorical evolution. Based on the work of Gregory Ulmer, along with Jacques Derrida, N. Katherine Hayles, Donna Haraway, and Cary Wolfe, this evolution expands the work of Plato and Aristotle by overcoming the privileging of mind over body and abstract reasoning over concrete physical experience.As such hierarchies become turned on their heads, a renewed emphasis on materiality and embodiment demands virtual products that stimulate the body. As such, a phenomenon I have named disembodied consumption takes place whereby users' chemical senses can be incited through participation with digital technologies. Through the stimulation of these physical senses, and in turn the connected emotions, today's digital citizens are practicing the rhetorical method referred to by Ulmer as conduction.By examining sites, blogs, and postings that include references to food and flavor, I reveal examples of conduction and show how this method is necessary for the development of well-being, and the defeat of compassion fatigue in digital society.
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Date Issued: 2016
Identifier: CFE0006089, ucf:50948
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006089

Title: Can I Get an Amen? Central Florida Black Pastors' Perceptions of the Impact of the Black Church in the Black Community.
Creator: Williamson, Jeffrey, Gay, David, Carter, Shannon, Corzine, Harold, Matejowsky, Ty, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This study uses phenomenological methods to answer the research question, (")what do black pastors perceive as the role of the church in the black community?(") I asked 20 Central Florida black pastors 17 questions, most of them open-ended, to determine their perceptions of the current black church. First, these pastors are dismayed at the condition and the position of the current black church. They view the history the black church as strong and stalwart, and the Civil Rights Movement as an...
Show moreThis study uses phenomenological methods to answer the research question, (")what do black pastors perceive as the role of the church in the black community?(") I asked 20 Central Florida black pastors 17 questions, most of them open-ended, to determine their perceptions of the current black church. First, these pastors are dismayed at the condition and the position of the current black church. They view the history the black church as strong and stalwart, and the Civil Rights Movement as an example of what the institution is capable of doing and being. Second, they perceive the primary roadblock of the black church to be leadership. They do not see current pastors as having neither the vision nor the desire to make the church the instrument of social justice and change that it once was. They see current pastors trying to make a name for themselves instead of impacting the communities they serve. They also see member apathy as another issue that hinders the impact of the black church. They argue that many black people have climbed the social ladder and no longer desire to reach back and help other blacks in the community that they have exited. This study provides important insight into the current state and the perception of the direction of the black church from the vantage point of these men and women who lead black churches in Central Florida.
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Date Issued: 2015
Identifier: CFE0006017, ucf:51011
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006017

Title: Cafeteria Culture: An Anthropological Approach to Lunchtime in a Central Florida Elementary School.
Creator: Herrington, Emily, Matejowsky, Ty, Williams, Lana, Geiger, Vance, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Public school cafeterias are used by nearly 51 million children (ages 4-17) in the United States every day. With over 40% of the approximately 73 million children (ages 0-17) participating in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), public school lunches carry resounding nutritional, social, and educational significance for their consumers. This fact, coupled with frequent media attention to school lunch food, notwithstanding, a notable lack of social scientific engagement with both students...
Show morePublic school cafeterias are used by nearly 51 million children (ages 4-17) in the United States every day. With over 40% of the approximately 73 million children (ages 0-17) participating in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), public school lunches carry resounding nutritional, social, and educational significance for their consumers. This fact, coupled with frequent media attention to school lunch food, notwithstanding, a notable lack of social scientific engagement with both students' perspectives and NSLP operators persists. Divided into two studies, this research utilizes ethnographic methods to explore students' lunchtime experiences within a Central Florida public elementary school cafeteria. Both works are grounded in information collected from 22 semi-structured and unstructured interviews with students, parents, cafeteria workers, school faculty, and a county official while also participating in a one-month lunchtime observation period in Spring 2017. The first study utilizes ethnographic methods to investigate students' food selection, social practices, and mealtime behaviors within the cafeteria. In this work, I argue that student's preferences are most often informed by taste and familiarity, though both age and personal belief systems strongly outline students' experiences. In the second study, I focus on the top-down priorities of nutrition, food production, and student feedback that guide how institutions construct lunch menus for elementary students. Specifically, I investigate what role public institutions play in forming elementary school students' understandings of food and expectations for mealtimes. Synthesizing findings from both studies, I assess how social, economic, and industry pressures are tangible within local cafeteria and governmental contexts. This research contributes to academic scholarship and public policy regarding childhood nutrition in institutionalized settings and advocates for the inclusion of elementary-aged children as important social actors in their call for increased and dietarily-inclusive food options.
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Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: CFE0006882, ucf:51732
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006882

Title: An Anthropological Study of Eating Perspectives, Meal Composition, and Food Choices Among Diverse Student Populations.
Creator: Daws, Chelsea, Matejowsky, Ty, Williams, Lana, Geiger, Vance, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: My thesis explores the factors that shape or reinforce international college students' perceptions of food. This research not only examines how cultural values affect individual nutrition and maintenance of eating behaviors, it also addresses the extent to which accessibility impacts eating behaviors. Notably, the research endeavor uses the concept of dietary habitus as an underlying directive mechanism for study. This study finds that most students experience a reduction in their fruit and...
Show moreMy thesis explores the factors that shape or reinforce international college students' perceptions of food. This research not only examines how cultural values affect individual nutrition and maintenance of eating behaviors, it also addresses the extent to which accessibility impacts eating behaviors. Notably, the research endeavor uses the concept of dietary habitus as an underlying directive mechanism for study. This study finds that most students experience a reduction in their fruit and vegetable intake. Another finding suggests that international students eat healthier and are more structured in comparison to domestic students if they hybridize their dietary habitus. Research findings also suggest that most participants perceive food on campus to be both equally healthy and unhealthy, with limited accessibility to national cuisines and affordable healthy foods.
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Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: CFE0006581, ucf:51348
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006581

Title: The Religious Beliefs and Behaviors of Baby Boomers, Generation X, and the Millennials: are there still gender differences?.
Creator: Chase, Jessica, Gay, David, Donley, Amy, Corzine, Harold, Matejowsky, Ty, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The literature describes how changing demographics and cultural factors in recent generations may be contributing to gender differences regarding religion. The present exploratory study uses cross-sectional survey data from the 2012 and 2014 General Social Survey to examine the gender differences in religiosity for Millennials, Generation X, and Baby Boomers. The findings show significant gender and demographic results for attendance at religious services, frequency of prayer, belief in the...
Show moreThe literature describes how changing demographics and cultural factors in recent generations may be contributing to gender differences regarding religion. The present exploratory study uses cross-sectional survey data from the 2012 and 2014 General Social Survey to examine the gender differences in religiosity for Millennials, Generation X, and Baby Boomers. The findings show significant gender and demographic results for attendance at religious services, frequency of prayer, belief in the Bible as the word of God, and belief in life after death for all three generations. Baby Boomer and Millennial women attend religious services more than men, but there is no gender difference for Generation X. However, Women from all generations pray more than men. For belief in the Bible as the word of God, only Baby Boomer women believe more than men. Finally, Millennial women and Generation X women believe in life after death more than men, whereas there is no gender difference in belief for Baby Boomers. Implications of the findings are discussed.
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Date Issued: 2016
Identifier: CFE0006282, ucf:51592
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006282

Title: Navigating Sociotechnical Power Structures: Dynamics of Conflict in World of Warcraft's Player versus Player Events.
Creator: Root, Rachael, Mishtal, Joanna, Matejowsky, Ty, Underberg-Goode, Natalie, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: As a result of technological advancement and exponential increases in global access, cross-disciplinary research has recently turned to digital online video games. Most anthropological research within this area has centered around player self-identification, gender construction, and gaming communities. Yet many interactions occur at nodes of dynamic conflict where agentic players navigate intersections of power, which are unaddressed in the scholarly corpus. By utilizing ethnographic methods...
Show moreAs a result of technological advancement and exponential increases in global access, cross-disciplinary research has recently turned to digital online video games. Most anthropological research within this area has centered around player self-identification, gender construction, and gaming communities. Yet many interactions occur at nodes of dynamic conflict where agentic players navigate intersections of power, which are unaddressed in the scholarly corpus. By utilizing ethnographic methods in World of Warcraft's player versus player events, I examine resources, relationships, and tools that underpin player actions and understandings. My findings reveal layered and dynamic patterns of sociotechnical conflict. Players' geographical location impacts access to infrastructure while hardware and software constrain in-game action in fundamental and inescapable ways. Player versus player events add additional restrictions and create fluid situations where players continually negotiate fluctuating social tensions while event-dependent dispersions of power fluctuate between groups and individuals. Players become leaders by legitimizing power in contextually unique ways, and competing imaginaries generate conflicts that are interpreted through game-specific subjectivities. In exploring these occurrences and utilizing theoretical explanations within World of Warcraft contexts, this research contributes to disciplinary understandings and discussions addressing conflict, leadership, and power, and to methodological techniques utilized in virtual world study. By foregrounding how players navigate power differentials in conflict situations, this research informs broader conceptions of how individuals and groups manage social disputes within and outside digital social events, informs game design, and has policy implications for resolving virtual world conflicts in real world courts.
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Date Issued: 2016
Identifier: CFE0006172, ucf:51140
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006172

Title: Sharing Aloha on the mainland: Cultural Identity and Connecting to Heritage through Commercial Luau Shows in Central Florida.
Creator: Hoback, Brittany, Howard, Rosalyn, Matejowsky, Ty, Reyes-Foster, Beatriz, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The Polynesian luau is one of the most well-known examples of cultural tourism. As such, it has accrued plenty of criticism, from issues of authenticity to primitivizing stereotypes and bodily framing. Lost in these critiques, however, are the voices of Polynesian performers who have chosen to participate in this form of cultural presentation. Based on ethnographic research with Polynesian performers employed in tourist luau shows in Orlando, Florida, from 2012 to 2014, I argue that not only...
Show moreThe Polynesian luau is one of the most well-known examples of cultural tourism. As such, it has accrued plenty of criticism, from issues of authenticity to primitivizing stereotypes and bodily framing. Lost in these critiques, however, are the voices of Polynesian performers who have chosen to participate in this form of cultural presentation. Based on ethnographic research with Polynesian performers employed in tourist luau shows in Orlando, Florida, from 2012 to 2014, I argue that not only are performers presenting their culture in a way that is meaningful for them and their audience, but that they are also using their employment as a way of connecting to their cultural heritage and reifying their cultural identity. By looking at performers' perspectives within cultural tourism, scholars can perceive the agency those performers use to assert their cultural identity and connection to their heritage.
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Date Issued: 2014
Identifier: CFE0005505, ucf:50359
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005505

Title: Gender Differences and Fast Food Preferences Among U.S. College Students.
Creator: Persaud, Donald, Matejowsky, Ty, Geiger, Vance, Williams, Lana, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The intent of this research is to examine the relationship of corporate fast food and health within the context of gender. It tests the hypothesis that Western perceptions of masculinity and femininity inform a differentiated pattern of food preference, which will correlate with health as measured by Body Mass Index (BMI). The targeted sample population for the study is the undergraduate community of the University of Central Florida, and fast food is a chosen dietary medium because it is an...
Show moreThe intent of this research is to examine the relationship of corporate fast food and health within the context of gender. It tests the hypothesis that Western perceptions of masculinity and femininity inform a differentiated pattern of food preference, which will correlate with health as measured by Body Mass Index (BMI). The targeted sample population for the study is the undergraduate community of the University of Central Florida, and fast food is a chosen dietary medium because it is an increasingly ubiquitous source of caloric energy in the American foodscape, representative of the mass production model applied to cuisine in Western nations. Data regarding fast food consumption habits were collected via survey producing a sample size of n=165 (n=116 females, n=49 males). Statistical analysis applied to this data yields conflicting results. While no gender based food preference is demonstrated, a correlation between BMI and frequency of consumption can be established. This suggests a gender-differentiated preference for fast food in general, if not for specific food items. From this sample, respondents were interviewed (n=14 females, n=8 males). Analysis of these interviews reveals an acute awareness by females of the connection between diet and health that is not reflected by males. Whether this perceived difference is based on an actual disparity of health education or a willingness to express this knowledge, it indicates a discrepancy which is likely attributable to cultural influences. While this study does not reveal gender-based differences in perception of specific foods, it does suggest disproportionate consumption patterns within genders which reflect distinct and contrasting cultural expectations in the U.S.
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Date Issued: 2013
Identifier: CFE0005044, ucf:49951
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005044

Title: Gourmet Food Trucks: An Ethnographic Examination of Orlando's Food Truck Scene.
Creator: Hawk, Zachary, Matejowsky, Ty, Geiger, Vance, Reyes-Foster, Beatriz, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Gourmet food trucks have emerged as increasingly popular dining alternatives for consumers in today's urban landscape. Existing literature, as well as my own ethnographic research within Orlando, Florida's mobile food vending scene, reveals that food truck owner/operators utilize various strategies to establish a viable niche for themselves in this diversified and burgeoning market. Among other things, these strategies include online social networking, creating and maintaining a recognizable...
Show moreGourmet food trucks have emerged as increasingly popular dining alternatives for consumers in today's urban landscape. Existing literature, as well as my own ethnographic research within Orlando, Florida's mobile food vending scene, reveals that food truck owner/operators utilize various strategies to establish a viable niche for themselves in this diversified and burgeoning market. Among other things, these strategies include online social networking, creating and maintaining a recognizable brand identity, collaborating with local retailers and bar owners, and incorporating organic and locally produced ingredients in their dishes whenever possible. As in other parts of the country, there appears to be a growing concern in greater Orlando about local diets and the profound and subtle messages it conveys about contemporary eating habits. I contend that dining at gourmet food trucks represents a legitimate declaration of consumer identity about individual beliefs and values. In my thesis, I examine how Orlando's gourmet food trucks offer consumers a greater selection of food options and allow locals to participate in a viable social network and community.
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Date Issued: 2013
Identifier: CFE0005003, ucf:49981
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005003

anthropology (3)	+ -
health (3)	+ -
Anthropology (2)	+ -
Black Church (2)	+ -
Italy (2)	+ -

agency (2)	+ -
cultural anthropology (2)	+ -
ethnography (2)	+ -
migrants (2)	+ -
nutrition (2)	+ -
religion (2)	+ -
resistance (2)	+ -
Acculturation (1)	+ -
African Diaspora (1)	+ -
African-American Communities (1)	+ -
Anthropological reflections on pub life in Ireland (1)	+ -
BMI (1)	+ -
Backpackers (1)	+ -
Beer (1)	+ -
Bisexual (1)	+ -
Bitcoin (1)	+ -
Catholicism (1)	+ -
Central Florida Black Pastors (1)	+ -
Central Florida farmers (1)	+ -
Community (1)	+ -
Community Health Programs (1)	+ -
Craft (1)	+ -
Cuba (1)	+ -
Cuisine (1)	+ -
Cultural tourism (1)	+ -

ETD Collection (27)	+ -
Honors Collection (1)	+ -

Matejowsky, Ty (28)	+ -
University of Central Florida (28)	+ -
Geiger, Vance (8)	+ -
Reyes-Foster, Beatriz (8)	+ -
Mishtal, Joanna (7)	+ -

Howard, Rosalyn (6)	+ -
Williams, Lana (4)	+ -
Donley, Amy (3)	+ -
Gay, David (3)	+ -
Corzine, Harold (2)	+ -
Harris, Shana (2)	+ -
Andrews, Edwanna (1)	+ -
Barrett, Patrick (1)	+ -
Bolger, Mary (1)	+ -
Brenckle, Martha (1)	+ -
Carlos, Kristine D (1)	+ -
Carter, Shannon (1)	+ -
Chase, Jessica (1)	+ -
Cotto, Maggie (1)	+ -
Crosby, Joshua (1)	+ -
Cucchiara, Jason (1)	+ -
Daws, Chelsea (1)	+ -
Draper, Suzanne (1)	+ -
Edwards, Russell (1)	+ -
Fehribach, Dylan (1)	+ -
Fletcher, Justin (1)	+ -
Grauerholz, Liz (1)	+ -
Hawk, Zachary (1)	+ -
Herrington, Emily (1)	+ -
Hoback, Brittany (1)	+ -

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