View All Items

Title: DE NERUDA A PARRA: UN ANALISIS DE LOS ASPECTOS ESTETICOS Y SOCIO-POLITICOS QUE CONSTRUYEN LA CHILENIDAD EN LA EPOCA CONTEMPORANEA.
Creator: Lindberg, Julia M., Villanueva, C. Alberto, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Espanol: Esta investigacion tiene el proposito de buscar, identificar y resaltar caracteristicas esteticas y socio-politicas en la literatura chilena que unen o explican factores constituyentes de la chilenidad en la epoca contemporanea. Mas en concreto, comenzare por introducir un panorama actualizado del Chile de hoy, ahondando un poco en la historia del pais empezando con la Guerra del Pacifico en 1879, cuando se nota por primera vez que el caso chileno es fundamentalmente divergente de...
Show moreEspanol: Esta investigacion tiene el proposito de buscar, identificar y resaltar caracteristicas esteticas y socio-politicas en la literatura chilena que unen o explican factores constituyentes de la chilenidad en la epoca contemporanea. Mas en concreto, comenzare por introducir un panorama actualizado del Chile de hoy, ahondando un poco en la historia del pais empezando con la Guerra del Pacifico en 1879, cuando se nota por primera vez que el caso chileno es fundamentalmente divergente de los demas paises del continente. Este antecedente militar y politico germinal es suficiente para alcanzar la epoca en que me he de entrar en esta investigacion, en torno a los sucesos del 1973 donde se discutiran las circunstancias que rodeaban la dictadura de Pinochet y como estas marcaron profundamente la sociedad chilena, hasta la actualidad. Asi intentare fomentar una base para empezar a analizar cautelosamente fragmentos y similitudes que exhiben una naturaleza est�tica o socio-politica en la poesia de Pablo Neruda, Enrique Lihn y en la antipoesia de Nicanor Parra. English: The purpose of this investigation is to find, identify, and highlight aesthetic and socio-political characteristics in Chilean literature that unite or explain constituent factors of chilenidad in the contemporary era. More concretely, it will begin by introducing a current panorama of today�s Chile, delving into the history of the country starting with the War of the Pacific in 1879, when it first becomes apparent that the Chilean case is fundamentally divergent of that of the rest of the countries in South America. From there, it will jump to the year 1973 where the circumstances that surrounded the dictatorship of Pinochet will be discussed and examined in regards to how deeply it impacted Chilean society in the past and how it continuously affects Chile in the present. This will form the necessary base to initiate a careful analysis of fragments and similarities that exhibit an aesthetic or socio-political nature in the poetry of Pablo Neruda, Enrique Lihn, and the antipoetry of Nicanor Parra.
Show less
Date Issued: 2016
Identifier: CFH2000033, ucf:45596
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH2000033

Title: Noise Thinks the Anthropocene: An Experiment in Noise Poetics.
Creator: Zwintscher, Aaron, Mauer, Barry, Grajeda, Anthony, Rounsaville, Angela, Schafer, Mark, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This dissertation is a textual experiment in noise poetics. It is an experiment in that it results from indeterminate means, alternative grammar, and experimental thinking. The outcome was not predetermined. Noise poetics is the use of noise to explain, elucidate, and evoke (akin to other poetic forms) within the textual milieu in a manner that seeks to be less determinate and more improvisational than conventional writing. This text argues that noise poetics is a necessary form for...
Show moreThis dissertation is a textual experiment in noise poetics. It is an experiment in that it results from indeterminate means, alternative grammar, and experimental thinking. The outcome was not predetermined. Noise poetics is the use of noise to explain, elucidate, and evoke (akin to other poetic forms) within the textual milieu in a manner that seeks to be less determinate and more improvisational than conventional writing. This text argues that noise poetics is a necessary form for addressing political inequality, coexistence with the (nonhuman) other, the ecological crisis, and sustainability because it approaches these issues as system of interconnected fragments and excesses and thus has the potential to reach or envision solutions in novel ways. The experiment draws quotations and fragments from a diverse collection of noise theory texts, arranged and assembled via indeterminate cut-up methods based on the work of several prominent artists and theorists (John Cage and William Burroughs among them). The experimental text (contained in full in Appendix B) was then edited and added to in order to craft the textual project into an argument for noise poetics that followed the juxtaposed lines of thought towards possible conclusions and practical applications. This project coincided with and was supplemented by bruit jouissance, a multimedia audiovisual noise project (contained and explicated in Appendix A). The two projects together are two applications of thoryvology (an articulation of noise theory created and presented within the text) and as complementary methods of viewing and understanding each other.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: CFE0006679, ucf:51911
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006679

Title: IN THE PROCESS OF BECOMING: THE ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE OF THE METROPOLITAN ACADEMIC LIBRARY.
Creator: Martin, Michael, Cintron, Rosa, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Organizational culture may be defined as the shared norms, values, and beliefs of an organization. The culture expresses itself through symbols and sagas. Organizational culture shapes the behavior of those within the organization and provides a lens through which its members can interpret reality. This study sought to define the organizational culture of the Metropolitan Academic Library. The study was guided by Schein's five levels of cultural assumptions: assumptions about external...
Show moreOrganizational culture may be defined as the shared norms, values, and beliefs of an organization. The culture expresses itself through symbols and sagas. Organizational culture shapes the behavior of those within the organization and provides a lens through which its members can interpret reality. This study sought to define the organizational culture of the Metropolitan Academic Library. The study was guided by Schein's five levels of cultural assumptions: assumptions about external adaptation issues; assumptions about internal integration; assumptions about the nature of truth and reality; assumptions about the nature of time and space; and assumptions about human nature, activity, and relationships. In order to triangulate data, I gave the librarians and library technical assistants of the Metropolitan Academic Library the Martin Culture Survey. I then conducted a multi-day, on-site visit, where I interviewed members of the Metropolitan Academic Library, made observations about the library, and performed document analysis. I found the culture of the Metropolitan Academic Library to be "in the process of becoming." The culture present in the library was not deep or rich; however, I did find some shared values, symbols, and sagas. With a recent turnover in administration, change was a dominant story of the Metropolitan Academic Library. The librarians and library technical assistants valued campus engagement, the people within the library, and service to the library patrons. These values find symbolic recognition in the coffee shop located in the library, the Christmas party, and the reference desk. Popular sagas of the Metropolitan Academic Library include the story of its humble origins and the building renovation.
Show less
Date Issued: 2011
Identifier: CFE0003585, ucf:48922
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003585

Title: GETTING TO THE PULP OF HARUKI MURAKAMI'SNORWEGIAN WOOD:TRANSLATABILITY AND THE ROLE OF POPULAR CULTURE.
Creator: Zuromski, Jacquelyn, Murphy, Patrick D., University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Haruki Murakami's Norwegian Wood (1987) veers from his favored detective-fiction genre by offering readers a 1960s coming-of-age romance, a story whose plot nonetheless spins around the protagonist seeking out his personal identity. The conflicts between Japanese tradition and modern, global perspectives are illustrated through the inclusion of popular culture elements such as music, literature and films. This thesis seeks to show how the novel's references to popular culture of the 1960s...
Show moreHaruki Murakami's Norwegian Wood (1987) veers from his favored detective-fiction genre by offering readers a 1960s coming-of-age romance, a story whose plot nonetheless spins around the protagonist seeking out his personal identity. The conflicts between Japanese tradition and modern, global perspectives are illustrated through the inclusion of popular culture elements such as music, literature and films. This thesis seeks to show how the novel's references to popular culture of the 1960s combine to help the protagonist establish an identity for himself as well as his place within the universal community. First, though, the project explores the impact of the translatability issues that arise with each of the novel's two English translations, variations dictated by the needs of differing audiences. The introduction provides an overview of the study, as well as historical background pertinent to the understanding of the Sixties-era popular culture iconography privileged by Murakami. My methodology favors a cultural studies approach and utilizes reader response and reception theories. Separate chapters then compare specifics between the two translations and examine the functionality and significance of music, literature and film within the novel. The conclusion justifies the subsequent deviations between the translations and argues for the necessity and value of both English versions, but claims Rubin's as the definitive English translation. Likewise, the study of the novel's many popular culture references exemplifies the roles that music, books, and film play in the creation of the protagonist's individual identity in Norwegian Wood while simultaneously illustrating the effectiveness of using globally recognizable media as a bridge between cultures.
Show less
Date Issued: 2004
Identifier: CFE0000258, ucf:46242
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000258

Title: THE PERFORMANCE OF HEALTH? MOTIVATIONS BEHIND UNIVERSITY STUDENTS' DECISIONS TO WEAR ATHLETIC ATTIRE.
Creator: Payne, Shannon, Mishtal, Joanna, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: "Athleisure" is a relatively new term to the American lexicon, a portmanteau used to describe athletic clothing used for leisure purposes. Recent studies show a disconnect between consumers' desire to purchase athletic attire and the percentage of Americans considered "active to a healthy level and beyond." While athletic wear sales skyrocket, reported levels of inactivity have slowly increased in recent years. These trends indicate a phenomenon in which consumers prioritize ownership of...
Show more"Athleisure" is a relatively new term to the American lexicon, a portmanteau used to describe athletic clothing used for leisure purposes. Recent studies show a disconnect between consumers' desire to purchase athletic attire and the percentage of Americans considered "active to a healthy level and beyond." While athletic wear sales skyrocket, reported levels of inactivity have slowly increased in recent years. These trends indicate a phenomenon in which consumers prioritize ownership of athletic wear over athletics. In this research, I set out to answer the following research questions: How do university students interpret and understand the purchase and wearing of athletic clothes, in the absence of athletic activity; and is a student's decision to wear athletic clothing for nonathletic activity associated with a symbolic performance of a healthy lifestyle? In order to answer these questions, I focused on a set of UCF students between 18 and 24 years of age who wore athletic attire as leisure attire and exercised less than three times a week. My data collection included participant observation, literature review, semi-structured interviews, and a focus group. I conducted semi-structured interviews with 18 UCF students who fit my inclusion criteria. Based on recurring narratives, I invited interview participants back to hold a focus group in which three students ultimately participated. In analyzing these data, I found that college students consider athletic attire suitable for a variety of casual situations, and therefore did not conflate wearing athletic attire with participating in athletic activity or the appearance of a healthy lifestyle. Further, research participants used age- and gender-based stereotypes when making judgments about their peers' habits regarding athletic activity and wearing athletic attire. These findings are important because they demonstrate how the boundary between public and private attire can change over time, how discourses of consumption outweigh discourses of personal responsibility, and how dress is a gendered experience.
Show less
Date Issued: 2015
Identifier: CFH0004855, ucf:45469
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004855

Title: Digital Dissonance: Horror Cultures in the Age of Convergent Technologies.
Creator: Powell, Daniel, McDaniel, Rudy, Campbell, James, Brenckle, Martha, Arnzen, Michael, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The first two decades of the new millennium have witnessed an abundance of change in the areas of textual production, digital communication, and our collective engagement with the Internet. This study explores these changes, which have yielded both positive and negative cultural and developmental outcomes, as products of digital dissonance. Dissonance is characterized by the disruptive consequences inherent in technology's incursion into the print publication cultures of the twentieth century...
Show moreThe first two decades of the new millennium have witnessed an abundance of change in the areas of textual production, digital communication, and our collective engagement with the Internet. This study explores these changes, which have yielded both positive and negative cultural and developmental outcomes, as products of digital dissonance. Dissonance is characterized by the disruptive consequences inherent in technology's incursion into the print publication cultures of the twentieth century, the explosion in social-media interaction that is changing the complexion of human contact, and our expanding reliance on the World Wide Web for negotiating commerce, culture, and communication.This study explores digital dissonance through the prism of an emerging literary subgenre called technohorror. Artists working in the area of technohorror are creating works that leverage the qualities of plausibility, mundanity, and surprise to tell important stories about how technology is altering the human experience in the twenty-first century. This study explores such subjects as paradigmatic changes in textual production methods, dynamic authorial hybridity, digital materiality in folklore studies, posthumanism, transhumanism, cognitive diminution, and physical degeneration as explored in works of technohorror.The work's rhetorical architecture includes elements of both theoretical and qualitative research. This project expands on City University of New York philosophy professor No(&)#235;l Carroll's definition of art-horror in developing a formal explanation of technohorror and then exploring that literary subgenre through the analysis of a series of contemporary texts and industry-related trends. The study also contains original interviews with active scholars, artists, editors, and librarians in the horror field to gain a variety of perspectives on these complicated subjects.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: CFE0006642, ucf:51231
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006642

Title: IRANIAN FEMINISM: A COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF ITS IMPACT AND FUTURE.
Creator: Eskamani, Anna, Sadri, Houman, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: For the casual observer, the term "Iranian feminist" is often considered to be an oxymoron. However, what seems to be an ironic juxtaposition actually holds a great length of truth: for over a century now, Iranian women have been marching, screaming, and fighting for equal gender rights - all the while embracing feminist ideals. In fact, "feminity" is a political symbol that has been influencing Iranian politics for over 150 years. From the very beginning of modern Iranian history, women have...
Show moreFor the casual observer, the term "Iranian feminist" is often considered to be an oxymoron. However, what seems to be an ironic juxtaposition actually holds a great length of truth: for over a century now, Iranian women have been marching, screaming, and fighting for equal gender rights - all the while embracing feminist ideals. In fact, "feminity" is a political symbol that has been influencing Iranian politics for over 150 years. From the very beginning of modern Iranian history, women have always played a pivotal role within Iranian history, constantly connecting the personal to the political. This research aims to explore this phenomenon as an independent movement and as one comparable to American feminism. Three main topics are explored: theocratic restrictions, culture, and globalization. There are three methods of research that I have utilized as resources for this study: previous studies, statistical data, and interviews. The purpose of this study is to understand why and how feminism is increasing within the anti-feminist regime of the IRI. This study holds both theoretical and political significance and is designed to predict the future status of Iranian feminism through examining the conditions of the past and present.
Show less
Date Issued: 2011
Identifier: CFH0003701, ucf:44737
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0003701

Title: "City of Superb Democracy:" The Emergence of Brooklyn's Cultural Identity During Cinema's Silent Era, 1893-1928.
Creator: Morton, David, Foster, Amy, French, Scot, Zhang, Hong, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This study discusses how motion picture spectatorship practices in Brooklyn developed separately from that of any other urban center in the United States between 1893 and 1928. Often overshadowed by Manhattan's glamorous cultural districts, Brooklyn's cultural arbiters adopted the motion picture as a means of asserting a sense of independence from the other New York boroughs. This argument is reinforced by focusing on the motion picture's ascendancy as one of the first forms of mass...
Show moreThis study discusses how motion picture spectatorship practices in Brooklyn developed separately from that of any other urban center in the United States between 1893 and 1928. Often overshadowed by Manhattan's glamorous cultural districts, Brooklyn's cultural arbiters adopted the motion picture as a means of asserting a sense of independence from the other New York boroughs. This argument is reinforced by focusing on the motion picture's ascendancy as one of the first forms of mass entertainment to be disseminated throughout New York City in congruence with the Borough of Brooklyn's rapid urbanization. In many significant areas Brooklyn's relationship with the motion picture was largely unique from anywhere else in New York. These differences are best illuminated through several key examples ranging from the manner in which Brooklyn's political and religious authorities enforced film censorship to discussing how the motion picture was exhibited and the way theaters proliferated throughout the borough Lastly this work will address the ways in which members of the Brooklyn community influenced the production practices of the films made at several Brooklyn-based film studios. Ultimately this work sets out to explain how an independent community was able to determine its own form of cultural expression through its relationship with mass entertainment.
Show less
Date Issued: 2014
Identifier: CFE0005217, ucf:50636
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005217

Title: Intercultural Communication in the Global Age: Lessons Learned from French Technical Communicators.
Creator: Tallman, Nicole, Flammia, Madelyn, Bowdon, Melody, Jones, Daniel, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This thesis explores the cultural considerations American technical communicators must address when working with French colleagues and when creating technical documentation for French audiences. A review of the literature on intercultural communication theory was conducted, along with a review of the limited research on technical communication in France and the needs of French audiences. A qualitative online survey of French technical communicators was also conducted. Through this survey,...
Show moreThis thesis explores the cultural considerations American technical communicators must address when working with French colleagues and when creating technical documentation for French audiences. A review of the literature on intercultural communication theory was conducted, along with a review of the limited research on technical communication in France and the needs of French audiences. A qualitative online survey of French technical communicators was also conducted. Through this survey, French technical communicators reported on their intercultural beliefs, experiences, and practices, and information, language, and cultural needs.Survey responses were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. Two main themes were developed as a result of this analysis: the importance of adapting content to French audiences, and the cultural differences between French and American information needs and communication styles. Survey findings were combined with theoretical and practical literature to offer American technical communicators guidance for successful intercultural interactions. This thesis concludes with suggestions for future practice and research in intercultural technical communication.
Show less
Date Issued: 2013
Identifier: CFE0004944, ucf:49604
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004944

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?
Show less
Date Issued: 2009
Identifier: CFE0002578, ucf:48255
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002578

Title: BEYOND POSTMODERN MARGINS: THEORIZING POSTFEMINIST CONSEQUENCES THROUGH POPULAR FEMALE REPRESENTATION.
Creator: Mosher, Victoria, Campbell, James, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: In 1988, Linda Nicholson and Nancy Fraser published an article entitled "Social Criticism Without Philosophy: An Encounter Between Feminism and Postmodernism," arguing that this essay would provide a jumping point for discussion between feminisms and postmodernisms within academia. Within this essay, Nicholson and Fraser largely disavow a number of second wave feminist theories due to their essentialist and foundationalist underpinnings in favor of a set of postmodernist frameworks that might...
Show moreIn 1988, Linda Nicholson and Nancy Fraser published an article entitled "Social Criticism Without Philosophy: An Encounter Between Feminism and Postmodernism," arguing that this essay would provide a jumping point for discussion between feminisms and postmodernisms within academia. Within this essay, Nicholson and Fraser largely disavow a number of second wave feminist theories due to their essentialist and foundationalist underpinnings in favor of a set of postmodernist frameworks that might help feminist theorists overcome these epistemological impediments. A "postmodern feminism," Nicholson and Fraser claim, would become "the theoretical counterpart of a broader, richer, more complex, and multilayered solidarity, the sort of solidarity which is essential for overcoming the oppression of women" (35). Interpreting "Social Criticism" through a feminist cultural studies model in which texts are understood to be simultaneously constituted by and reflective of their own sociopolitical spaces, I argue that the construction of Nicholson and Fraser's "postmodern feminism" is, first and foremost, neither a postmodernist critique nor a means of overcoming the pitfalls of essentialism and foundationalism. Instead, the construction of this theoretical paradigm can be shown to be complicit with postfeminist discourses, wherein an implicitly patriarchal discourse of postmodernism is called upon to repair the deficiencies of feminisms, deficiencies that postmodernisms, in some ways, helped to bring into view. To provide a conceptual backing for these claims, I move toward an examination of mass culture, surveying the similarities between "Social Criticism" and the film What Women Want. Such a comparison, I suggest, facilitates a better understanding of how "Social Criticism" can be shown to be imbedded in a postfeminist narrative structure in which feminisms are relegated to a discursively subordinate gendered position in relation to postmodernisms. Finally, in what I find to be the most important aspect of this thesis' inquiry, I ask what it means to build a "broader, richer, more complex, and multilayered solidarity" by disavowing second wave feminisms in favor of postmodernisms. I conclude that, in using postmodernisms as a panacea for feminist theories, Nicholson and Fraser curtail what might have been a rigorous interrogation of and direct engagement with second wave feminist theories that would also attend to the phallogocentric underpinnings of postmodern theories. To underline the potential consequences, I turn to a set of televisual and filmic texts including Sex and the City, Desperate Housewives, and The Devil Wears Prada to gauge what their "postmodern feminism" might represent in practice rather than what it entails as philosophy. This juxtaposition of these two differently defined and yet overwhelmingly similar postmodern feminisms, I propose, underscores the potential that Nicholson and Fraser may have instituted a postmodern feminist methodology in which it is possible that feminisms might emerge not as discourses essential for "overcoming the oppression of women" but rather as discourses that can be critiqued into oblivion.
Show less
Date Issued: 2008
Identifier: CFE0002141, ucf:47518
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002141

Title: E.A.I. Anxiety: Technopanic and Post-Human Potential.
Creator: Mandell, Zachary, Brenckle, Martha, Jones, Natasha, Scott, Blake, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Robots have been a part of the imagination of Western culture for centuries. The possibility for automation and artificial life has inspired the curiosity of thinkers like Leonardo Da Vinci who once designed a mechanical knight. It wasn't until the 19th century that automated machinery has become realized. The confrontation between human and automation has inspired a fear, referred to as (")technopanic("), that has been exacerbated in tandem with the evolution of technology. This thesis seeks...
Show moreRobots have been a part of the imagination of Western culture for centuries. The possibility for automation and artificial life has inspired the curiosity of thinkers like Leonardo Da Vinci who once designed a mechanical knight. It wasn't until the 19th century that automated machinery has become realized. The confrontation between human and automation has inspired a fear, referred to as (")technopanic("), that has been exacerbated in tandem with the evolution of technology. This thesis seeks to discover the historical precedence for these fears. I explore three modes of knowledge (Philosophy, Economics, and Film Theory) to examine the agendas behind the messages on the topic of Artificial Life, specifically Robots. I then advocate for an alternative philosophy called Post-Humanism. I argue that what is needed to alleviate the fears and anxieties of Western culture is a shift in how humanity views itself and its relation to the natural world. By structuring my thesis in this way, I identify the roots of Western humanity's anthropocentric ontology first, explore the economic implications of automation second, analyze the cultural anticipations of artificial life in Western media third, and finally offer an alternative attitude and ethic as a way out of the pre-established judgments that do little to protect Western culture from E.A.I.
Show less
Date Issued: 2018
Identifier: CFE0007049, ucf:52022
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007049

Title: THE KIOSK CULTURE: RECONCILING THE PERFORMANCE SUPPORT PARADOX IN THE POSTMODERN AGE OF MACHINES.
Creator: Cavanagh, Thomas, Kitalong, Karla, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Do you remember the first time you used an Automatic Teller Machine (ATM)? Or a pay-at-the-pump gas station? Or an airline e-ticket kiosk? How did you know what to do? Although you never received any formal instruction in how to interact with the self-service technology, you were likely able to accomplish your task (e.g., withdrawing or depositing money) as successfully as an experienced user. However, not so long ago, to accomplish that same task, you needed the direct mediation of a service...
Show moreDo you remember the first time you used an Automatic Teller Machine (ATM)? Or a pay-at-the-pump gas station? Or an airline e-ticket kiosk? How did you know what to do? Although you never received any formal instruction in how to interact with the self-service technology, you were likely able to accomplish your task (e.g., withdrawing or depositing money) as successfully as an experienced user. However, not so long ago, to accomplish that same task, you needed the direct mediation of a service professional who had been trained how to use the required complex technology. What has changed? In short, the technology is now able to compensate for the average consumer's lack of experience with the transactional system. The technology itself bridges the performance gap, allowing a novice to accomplish the same task as an experienced professional. This shift to a self-service paradigm is completely changing the dynamics of the consumer relationship with the capitalist enterprise, resulting in what is rapidly becoming the default consumer interface of the postmodern era. The recognition that the entire performance support apparatus now revolves around the end user/consumer rather than the employee represents a tectonic shift in the workforce training industry. What emerges is a homogenized consumer culture enabled by self-service technologies--a kiosk culture. No longer is the ability to interact with complex technology confined to a privileged workforce minority who has access to expensive and time-consuming training. The growth of the kiosk culture is being driven equally by business financial pressures, consumer demand for more efficient transactions, and the improved sophistication of compensatory technology that allows a novice to perform a task with the same competence as an expert. "The Kiosk Culture" examines all aspects of self-service technology and its ascendancy. Beyond the milieu of business, the kiosk culture is also infiltrating all corners of society, including medicine, athletics, and the arts, forcing us to re-examine our definitions of knowledge, skills, performance, and even humanity. The current ubiquity of self-service technology has already impacted our society and will continue to do so as we ride the rising tide of the kiosk culture.
Show less
Date Issued: 2006
Identifier: CFE0001348, ucf:46989
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001348

Title: STORY LINES: MOVING THROUGH THE MULTIPLE IMAGINED COMMUNITIES OF AN ASIAN-/AMERICAN-/FEMINIST BODY.
Creator: Choudhury, Athia, Park, Shelley, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: We all have stories to share, to build, to pass around, to inherit, and to create. This story - the one I piece together now - is about a Thai-/Bengali-/Muslim-/American-/Feminist looking for home, looking to manage the tension and conflict of wanting to belong to her family and to her feminist community. This thesis focuses on the seemingly conflicting obligations to kinship on the one hand and to feminist practice on the other, a conflict where being a good scholar or activist is directly...
Show moreWe all have stories to share, to build, to pass around, to inherit, and to create. This story - the one I piece together now - is about a Thai-/Bengali-/Muslim-/American-/Feminist looking for home, looking to manage the tension and conflict of wanting to belong to her family and to her feminist community. This thesis focuses on the seemingly conflicting obligations to kinship on the one hand and to feminist practice on the other, a conflict where being a good scholar or activist is directly in opposition to being a good Asian daughter. In order to understand how and why these communities appear at odds with one another, I examine how the material spaces and psychological realities inhabited by specific hyphenated, fragmented subjects are represented (and misrepresented) in both popular culture and practical politics, arguing against images of the hybrid body that bracket its lived tensions. I argue that fantasies of home as an unconditional site of belonging and comfort distract us from the multiple communities to which hyphenated subjects must move between. Hyphenated Asian-/American bodies often find ourselves torn between nativism and assimilationism - having to neutralize, forsake, or discard parts of our identities. Thus, I reduce complicated, difficult ideas of being to the size of a thimble, to a question of loyalty between my Asian-/American history and my American-/feminist future, between my familial background and the issues that have become foregrounded for me during college, between the home from which I originate and the new home to which I wish to belong. To move with fluidity, I must - in collaboration with others - invent new stories of identity and belonging.
Show less
Date Issued: 2012
Identifier: CFH0004200, ucf:44974
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004200

cultural studies (5)	+ -
film studies (3)	+ -
cultural anthropology (2)	+ -
feminism (2)	+ -
performativity (2)	+ -

postmodern (2)	+ -
technology (2)	+ -
2001: A Space Odyssey (1)	+ -
A.I. (1)	+ -
Alfred Birnbaum (1)	+ -
Angela McRobbie (1)	+ -
Anthropocentrism (1)	+ -
Anthropological reflections on pub life in Ireland (1)	+ -
Anthropology (1)	+ -
Artificial Intelligence (1)	+ -
Asian American (1)	+ -
Assimilation (1)	+ -
Automated Labor (1)	+ -
Automation (1)	+ -
Brooklyn (1)	+ -
Chile (1)	+ -
Chilean culture (1)	+ -
Chilean literature (1)	+ -
Consciousness (1)	+ -
Critical Race Theory (1)	+ -
Cultural Studies (1)	+ -
Cultural studies (1)	+ -
Culture (1)	+ -
Culture Studies (1)	+ -
Do-It-Yourself (1)	+ -

ETD Collection (10)	+ -
Honors Collection (4)	+ -

English (13)	+ -
Spanish (1)	+ -

University of Central Florida (14)	+ -
Brenckle, Martha (2)	+ -
Campbell, James (2)	+ -
Arnzen, Michael (1)	+ -
Bowdon, Melody (1)	+ -

Search In

Sort Results By:

Narrow results by:

Topical Subject

Collection

Type of Resource

Language

Creator

Format

Owner