Current Search: Postcards (x)
Pages
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Title
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"WE'RE BECOMING BILINGUAL AND BILITERATE!" AN ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY ON HOW A DUAL-LANGUAGE PROGRAM IN FLORIDA CONTRIBUTES TO THE LITERACY DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH-LANGUAGE LEARNERS.
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Creator
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Black, Diane, Lue, Martha, University of Central Florida
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Abstract / Description
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ABSTRACT The purpose of this research was to determine whether participation in a dual-language program by English-language learners (ELLs) contributed to the literacy development of this student population. This qualitative research spanned 5 months and was conducted within an elementary school located in central Florida. It is important to note that the researcher was also a teacher within the dual-language program under study, hence possessed an inside perspective of the program and the...
Show moreABSTRACT The purpose of this research was to determine whether participation in a dual-language program by English-language learners (ELLs) contributed to the literacy development of this student population. This qualitative research spanned 5 months and was conducted within an elementary school located in central Florida. It is important to note that the researcher was also a teacher within the dual-language program under study, hence possessed an inside perspective of the program and the progression of several participating students. The study was guided by the following research questions: 1. What factors contribute to the improved literacy development for ELLs through participation in a two-way, dual-language program? 2. What factors contribute to the failure to improve the literacy development for ELLs participating in two-way, dual-language programs? As an ethnographic study, the qualitative methods of observation, interviewing, and examination of artifacts (i.e., work samples) were employed. ELLs attending the 1st through the 5th grades were observed during their Literacy Block and interviewed regarding their feelings about learning two languages. Parents and teachers were also interviewed to determine their beliefs surrounding the contribution of the dual-language program to the literacy development of the participating ELLS. Work samples, including reading scores and journal samples, were also examined. The four processes of the W. P. Thomas and V. P. Collier (1997) prism model--sociocultural processes, linguistic processes, academic development, and cognitive development--served as the theoretical framework for the data analysis. The prism model facilitated elaboration of how all processes involved in the development of the ELLs' literacy skills are related and intertwined. After triangulation of the data from the observations, interviews and work samples, ten factors affecting second-language acquisition for ELLs participating in a dual-language program were discovered in this study. Nine appeared to contribute to successful literacy development and one factor appeared to contribute to failure in the acquisition of second-language literacy skills. Based upon the findings, it appears that participation in a dual-language program indeed contributes to literacy development in ELLs. Contributions to the field and recommendations for related future research are presented.
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Date Issued
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2007
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Identifier
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CFE0001522, ucf:47134
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Format
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Document (PDF)
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001522
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Title
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"What We Eat Matters": Perspectives on Food and Health in the Mexican Im/migrant Farmworker Communities in Indian River County, Florida.
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Creator
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Puerto, Hugo, Reyes-Foster, Beatriz, Mishtal, Joanna, Matejowsky, Ty, University of Central Florida
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Abstract / Description
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The dramatic increase of type-2 diabetes within the Latino community is of great concern in the U.S., especially among Mexican im/migrant farmworkers. Anthropological scholarship shows that health issues within im/migrant groups in the U.S. are poorly understood from a sociocultural and local perspective. In Indian River County, Florida, farmworker leaders created a community garden in response to health problems in this community. This initiative was launched to educate families about the...
Show moreThe dramatic increase of type-2 diabetes within the Latino community is of great concern in the U.S., especially among Mexican im/migrant farmworkers. Anthropological scholarship shows that health issues within im/migrant groups in the U.S. are poorly understood from a sociocultural and local perspective. In Indian River County, Florida, farmworker leaders created a community garden in response to health problems in this community. This initiative was launched to educate families about the health and economic benefits of growing their own food. The Indian River County Health Department and the local leaders are working collaboratively to inform the community about the risks of type-2 diabetes by providing educational lectures about health, food, and nutrition, in an effort to engage the farmworkers to actively participate in community gardens. However, little engagement to this initiative has been observed within the farmworker community. This ethnographic investigation examines the challenges of involving Mexican im/migrant farmworkers in community-based solutions to health problems. Based on participant observation, survey, and interview data with farmworkers and key informants from the Farmworkers Association of Florida, this project examines the perspectives of health concerns and the role of grassroots initiatives in addressing health needs. Specifically, it analyzes barriers to healthy eating and explores how community gardens can improve health outcomes in farmworker communities. This research contributes to the understanding of Mexican im/migrant farmworkers' health in Indian River County, and it has the potential to guide health-related policies pertaining to im/migrant communities in general.
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Date Issued
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2015
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Identifier
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CFE0005692, ucf:50114
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Format
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Document (PDF)
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005692
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Title
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"WHITE MAN'S BURDEN?" THE PARTY POLITICS OF AMERICAN IMPERIALISM: 1900-1920.
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Creator
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Carandang, Joven, Kallina, Edmund, University of Central Florida
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Abstract / Description
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This dissertation is an interpretive analysis of the political background of the American annexation and administration of the Philippine Islands between 1900 and 1920. It seeks to analyze the political value of supporting and opposing imperialism to American political parties and elites. Seeking to capitalize on the American victory over Spain in 1898, the Republican Party embraced the annexation of the Philippines as a way to promote an idea of rising American international power....
Show moreThis dissertation is an interpretive analysis of the political background of the American annexation and administration of the Philippine Islands between 1900 and 1920. It seeks to analyze the political value of supporting and opposing imperialism to American political parties and elites. Seeking to capitalize on the American victory over Spain in 1898, the Republican Party embraced the annexation of the Philippines as a way to promote an idea of rising American international power. Subsequently, their tenure in the Philippines can be analyzed as bringing industrialization to the Philippines for political gain, casting themselves in a politically popular role of nation builders and bringers of democracy. In opposing the Republicans, Democrats became anti-imperialists by default. After overcoming the initial unpopularity of that ideology, they were able to redefine it in such as way as to co-opt the original Republican successes in the Philippines. As such, the Democratic tenure in the Philippines emphasizes political gamesmanship and patronage that allowed them to effectively "steal" the credit for the democratization of the Philippines for partisan gains against the Republicans.
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Date Issued
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2007
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Identifier
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CFE0001760, ucf:47256
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Format
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Document (PDF)
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001760
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Title
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"WHO AM I?": A SEARCH FOR AMERICA'S IDENTITY THROUGH THEATRE FOR SOCIAL CHANGE.
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Creator
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Bliznik, Sean, Listengarten, Julia, University of Central Florida
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Abstract / Description
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Theatre has always existed as a didactic tool to educate society about society's own successes, failures, and foibles. The theatre and theatre artists have attempted to take society's interpretation of truth and place it on the stage for all to see and experience. Sometimes, theatre creates and performs its own truth in place of society's accepted truth by re-examining pre-existing societal constructs and creating an interpretation of truth that better represents the current state...
Show moreTheatre has always existed as a didactic tool to educate society about society's own successes, failures, and foibles. The theatre and theatre artists have attempted to take society's interpretation of truth and place it on the stage for all to see and experience. Sometimes, theatre creates and performs its own truth in place of society's accepted truth by re-examining pre-existing societal constructs and creating an interpretation of truth that better represents the current state of affairs as the theatre sees it. Therefore, theatre becomes the mode by which society learns, explores, refutes, and at times, even dismisses accepted societal truths. As a didactic tool, it is in this vein of truth-seeking that theatre has entered the fickle work of social change. First and foremost, what is social change? Who can create change? How is this change measured? How does one measure the effected change on a particular audience? These questions (and more) as well as their subsequent answers are the job of the social change theatre artist and are explored in this study. This thesis is presented in several distinct chapters. Chapters one and two examine the foundations of theatre for social change and its place in the contemporary theatre world. Chapter three explores writing theatre for social change and yields the development of two original theatrical pieces of theater for social change as a direct result of the aforementioned research complete with a stage presentation of those pieces and an audience assessment (before the performance). The concluding chapters explore the results of the audience survey which explains my understanding of theatre for social change's effect on society and the need for society to continually be exposed to theatre which is socially conscious and contributive in order to firmly define America's socially conscious theatrical identity.
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Date Issued
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2007
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Identifier
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CFE0001730, ucf:47314
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Format
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Document (PDF)
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001730
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Title
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"WORSE THAN GUARDS:" ORDINARY CRIMINALS AND POLITICAL PRISONERS IN THE GULAG (1918-1950).
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Creator
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Klements, Elizabeth T, Solonari, Vladimir, University of Central Florida
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Abstract / Description
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This paper explores the volatile relationship between the political prisoners and the common criminals in the Soviet GULAG. Lenin's theories on crime and punishment shaped the early Soviet penal system; he implemented policies which favored the common criminals and repressed the political prisoners. He deemed that the criminals, as "social allies" of the working class, were more likely to become good Soviet citizens than the political prisoners, considered "counterrevolutionaries" and ...
Show moreThis paper explores the volatile relationship between the political prisoners and the common criminals in the Soviet GULAG. Lenin's theories on crime and punishment shaped the early Soviet penal system; he implemented policies which favored the common criminals and repressed the political prisoners. He deemed that the criminals, as "social allies" of the working class, were more likely to become good Soviet citizens than the political prisoners, considered "counterrevolutionaries" and "enemies of the state." In the decade after the Bolshevik revolution, the prison administration empowered the criminals in the GULAG by giving them access to the life-saving jobs and goods in the labor camps, while gradually withdrawing the political prisoners' access to the same. From the 1930s to shortly after the end of World War II, the strong criminal fraternity in the GULAG robbed, beat, and killed the political prisoners, while the GULAG administration refused to intervene. Using the testimony of former political prisoners and GULAG personnel, as well as secondary sources, I identify the policies that led to the criminals' "reign of terror," I address theories regarding if and why the administration permitted such violence and disorder in the camps, and I demonstrate that the political prisoners responded to their situation in a range of ways, from holding their tormentors in contempt to forming a tentative friendships with individual criminals who could offer them their protection and a way to survive the camps.
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Date Issued
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2019
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Identifier
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CFH2000560, ucf:45648
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Format
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Document (PDF)
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH2000560
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Title
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"Yeah I'm A Girl. I Play Video Games.": Identity Work of Collegiate Women Gamers.
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Creator
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Rosenbaum, Emily, Anthony, Amanda, Carter, Shannon, Grauerholz, Liz, University of Central Florida
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Abstract / Description
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?Despite accounting for almost half of the game playing population, women gamers are an underrepresented and excluded group within the gaming culture, both in regards to the advertising and production of video games. Prior research suggests that male gamers exclude women from gaming activities, question their legitimacy within the community, and create hostile environments for women both virtually in-game and in physical gaming spaces. As such, women gamers can be understood to hold a...
Show more?Despite accounting for almost half of the game playing population, women gamers are an underrepresented and excluded group within the gaming culture, both in regards to the advertising and production of video games. Prior research suggests that male gamers exclude women from gaming activities, question their legitimacy within the community, and create hostile environments for women both virtually in-game and in physical gaming spaces. As such, women gamers can be understood to hold a marginalized status with the gaming community. The current study looks to examine how women define themselves as (")gamers(") while negotiating this marginalized status. By adopting an identity work perspective, this research examines if and how women gamers perform identity work strategies, and more specifically the generic social processes defined by Schwalbe et al (2000) and expanded upon by Ezzell (2009). Drawing from interviews with 12 collegiate women gamers, this study explores how women define themselves as gamers through the identity codes of the gaming community, specifically through forms of commitment such as their time or honing their expertise. The data additionally explore how women negotiate a gendered gamer identity, as the identity codes they use to define themselves as gamers are often associated with gendered stereotypes, such as the (")girl gamer(") stereotypes, causing the women to utilize identity work processes, such as othering and subordinate adaptation, in order to maintain their gamer identity. As little research has looked to explore women gamers and their gamer identity construction, the present study addresses this gap in the literature through the unique theoretical lens of the identity work perspective.
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Date Issued
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2017
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Identifier
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CFE0006786, ucf:51811
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Format
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Document (PDF)
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006786
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Title
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"You Have Guns and So Have We...": An Ethnohistoric Analysis of Creek and Seminole Combat Behaviors.
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Creator
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Lawres, Nathan, Howard, Rosalyn, Barber, Sarah, Walker, John, University of Central Florida
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Abstract / Description
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Resistance to oppression is a globally recognized cultural phenomenon that displays a remarkable amount of variation in its manifestations over both time and space. This cultural phenomenon is particularly evident among the Native American cultural groups of the Southeastern United States. Throughout the sixteenth through nineteenth centuries the European and American states employed tactics and implemented laws aimed at expanding the geographic boundaries of their respective states into the...
Show moreResistance to oppression is a globally recognized cultural phenomenon that displays a remarkable amount of variation in its manifestations over both time and space. This cultural phenomenon is particularly evident among the Native American cultural groups of the Southeastern United States. Throughout the sixteenth through nineteenth centuries the European and American states employed tactics and implemented laws aimed at expanding the geographic boundaries of their respective states into the Tribal Zone of the Southeast. None of these groups, however, sat passively during this process; they employed resistive tactics and strategies aimed at maintaining their freedoms, their lives, and their traditional sociocultural structures. However, the resistive tactics and strategies, primarily manifested in the medium of warfare, have gone relatively unnoticed by scholars of the disciplines of history and anthropology, typically regarded simply as guerrilla in nature. This research presents a new analytical model that is useful in qualitatively and quantitatively analyzing the behaviors employed in combat scenarios. Using the combat behaviors of Muskhogean speaking cultural groups as a case study, such as the Creeks and Seminoles and their Protohistoric predecessors, this model has shown that indigenous warfare in this region was complex, dynamic, and adaptive. This research has further implications in that it has documented the evolution of Seminole combat behaviors into the complex and dynamic behaviors that were displayed during the infamous Second Seminole War. Furthermore, the model used in this research provides a fluid and adaptive base for the analysis of the combat behaviors of other cultural groups world-wide.
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Date Issued
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2012
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Identifier
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CFE0004280, ucf:49532
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Format
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Document (PDF)
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004280
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Title
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#BECAUSE I SHAVE MY ARMPITS...": A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF #WOMENAGAINSTFEMINISM ON TWITTER.
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Creator
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Brandman, Marina, Donley, Amy, University of Central Florida
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Abstract / Description
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Because of the speed and convenience of Twitter, it has become one of the most widely utilized platforms for breaking news and is often used to raise awareness of current social issues, political happenings, and social injustices. As more women use Twitter and other social media to embrace the feminist label online, an array of criticism has come to surface. A new movement, #WomenAgainstFeminism, has become popular with Twitter users who reject feminism ideals and the feminism label. Research...
Show moreBecause of the speed and convenience of Twitter, it has become one of the most widely utilized platforms for breaking news and is often used to raise awareness of current social issues, political happenings, and social injustices. As more women use Twitter and other social media to embrace the feminist label online, an array of criticism has come to surface. A new movement, #WomenAgainstFeminism, has become popular with Twitter users who reject feminism ideals and the feminism label. Research has been done examining the presence of online feminism, "hashtag feminism," and online activism in general. Currently, there is no research analyzing the online reaction to feminism, #WomenAgainstFeminism. The purpose of this study is to analyze tweets containing #WomenAgainstFeminism to identify the salient reasons for rejecting feminism, stereotypes associated with feminism, and characteristics associated with feminists. This study broadens the current literature that analyzes attitudes towards feminism, stereotypes of feminists, and feminist identification. This study also adds to the growing body of literature that appreciates the impact Twitter and other social media networks have on members of society and social movements. This study differs from previous research because it focuses on the common stereotypes and characteristics associated with feminism that are prevalent in a social media campaign created to refute feminism.
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Date Issued
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2015
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Identifier
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CFH0004828, ucf:45475
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Format
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Document (PDF)
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004828
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Title
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#STORYOFMYLIFE: PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS ASSOCIATED WITH ATTENTION SEEKING BEHAVIOR ONLINE AND SOCIAL MEDIA USE IN EMERGING ADULTHOOD.
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Creator
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Berryman, Chloe, Negy, Charles, University of Central Florida
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Abstract / Description
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The intent of this study was to explore to what extent loneliness, need for belonging, and parent-child relationships relate to time spent communicating via social media. The study also focused on predicting social media integration and vaguebooking, an attention seeking behavior on social media. Results from a sample of 471 college students indicated that need for belonging was related to more time spent communicating with friends online. Parent-child relationship, social anxiety, and...
Show moreThe intent of this study was to explore to what extent loneliness, need for belonging, and parent-child relationships relate to time spent communicating via social media. The study also focused on predicting social media integration and vaguebooking, an attention seeking behavior on social media. Results from a sample of 471 college students indicated that need for belonging was related to more time spent communicating with friends online. Parent-child relationship, social anxiety, and loneliness were not significantly correlated with social media use. Need for belonging predicted social media integration and loneliness predicted vaguebooking. Histrionic symptoms significantly predicted both social media integration and vaguebooking behaviors, indicating that for those with histrionic traits, social media may reinforce attention seeking behaviors.
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Date Issued
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2014
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Identifier
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CFH0004706, ucf:45407
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Format
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Document (PDF)
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004706
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Title
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'LET HER BE TAKEN': SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN MEDIEVAL ENGLAND.
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Creator
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McNellis, Lindsey, Larson, Peter, University of Central Florida
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Abstract / Description
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Rape and its impact on medieval women, as conceived by society and the law, have yet to receive extensive treatment. By analyzing not only rape cases, but evolving laws and the impact of the Church on views of sexuality and marriage and thus its influence on attitudes towards rape, this study shows that women were much more than victims and society, or the courts, reacted accordingly. Covering the years 1200 to 1250, this thesis examines secular court cases taken from the general eyre records...
Show moreRape and its impact on medieval women, as conceived by society and the law, have yet to receive extensive treatment. By analyzing not only rape cases, but evolving laws and the impact of the Church on views of sexuality and marriage and thus its influence on attitudes towards rape, this study shows that women were much more than victims and society, or the courts, reacted accordingly. Covering the years 1200 to 1250, this thesis examines secular court cases taken from the general eyre records of Yorkshire, Gloucestershire, Lincolnshire, Warwickshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire. Cases taken from the King's Bench and canon courts, including Canterbury, also provide an illustration of the process of rape litigation. Legal treatises, both canon and secular, serve as the foundation for the procedures required in either court system and show that rape was a punishable offense. However, society had difficulty viewing rape as a personal crime against a woman as opposed to a crime against her family and that is when it actually thought that sexual violence occurred. While still available to them, women used the rape laws to push their agendas and concerns onto the court revenge, choice of marriage, justice. In court records, the heavy burden of proof and the high rate of dismissals support this conclusion. Women persevered through the inherent disadvantages presented by a patriarchal system and achieved a measure of control over their lives. This is evidenced by the nearly equal success and failure rates in the records examined; 33 percent ended in acquittal or dismissal, while 31 percent provided women with some closure. The passage of the Statutes of Westminster, by removing a woman's right to prosecute rape and marry the accused, also convincingly illustrated that women held a degree of power that was unacceptable to society.
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Date Issued
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2008
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Identifier
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CFE0002170, ucf:47519
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Format
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Document (PDF)
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002170
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Title
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''ALL DOLLED UP": SELF-OBJECTIFICATION, GROOMING BEHAVIORS, AND BODY IMAGE DISTURBANCE AMONG COLLEGE WOMEN.
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Creator
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Piercey, Cianna, Brophy-Ellison, James, White, Grace, University of Central Florida
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Abstract / Description
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The relationship between self-objectification, grooming behaviors, and body image disturbance was examined among 389 female students at the University of Central Florida. Self-objectification positively predicted body image disturbance, as well as the average amount of time and money that women reported investing into grooming behaviors (i.e. hair-styling, hair-removal, makeup application, nail adornment and other grooming behaviors). Body mass index (BMI) was also found to positively predict...
Show moreThe relationship between self-objectification, grooming behaviors, and body image disturbance was examined among 389 female students at the University of Central Florida. Self-objectification positively predicted body image disturbance, as well as the average amount of time and money that women reported investing into grooming behaviors (i.e. hair-styling, hair-removal, makeup application, nail adornment and other grooming behaviors). Body mass index (BMI) was also found to positively predict body image disturbance and time spent on grooming, however, no relationship was found between self-objectification and BMI. Furthermore, lower socioeconomic status (SES) was found to be associated with body-dissatisfaction and more frequent negative body image emotions in comparison to participants with higher SES. A significant negative correlation was also found between time spent on grooming and grade point average (GPA).
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Date Issued
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2019
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Identifier
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CFH2000582, ucf:45698
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Format
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Document (PDF)
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH2000582
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Title
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'A Room of Their Own': Heritage Tourism and the Challenging of Heteropatriarchal Masculinity in Scottish National Narratives.
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Creator
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O'Neill, Carys, Lyons, Amelia, Beiler, Rosalind, Cheong, Caroline, University of Central Florida
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Abstract / Description
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This thesis explores the visibility of women in traditionally masculine Scottish national narratives as evidenced by their physical representation, or lack thereof, in the cultural heritage landscape. Beginning with the 1707 Act of Union between Scotland and England, a moment cemented in history, literature, and popular memory as the beginning of a Scottish rebirth, this thesis traces the evolution of Scottish national identity and the tropes employed for its assertion to paint a clearer...
Show moreThis thesis explores the visibility of women in traditionally masculine Scottish national narratives as evidenced by their physical representation, or lack thereof, in the cultural heritage landscape. Beginning with the 1707 Act of Union between Scotland and England, a moment cemented in history, literature, and popular memory as the beginning of a Scottish rebirth, this thesis traces the evolution of Scottish national identity and the tropes employed for its assertion to paint a clearer picture of the power of strategic selectivity and the effects of sacrifice in the process of community definition. Following the transformation of the rugged Celtic Highlander from his pre-Union relegation as an outer barbarian to his post-Union embrace as the epitome of distinction and the embodiment of anti-English, anti-aristocratic sentiment so crucial to the negotiation of a Scottish place in union and empire, this thesis hones in on notions of gender and peformative identity to form the basis for an analysis of twentieth and twenty-first century national heritage dynamics. An innovative spatial study of monuments and memorials in the Scottish capital city of Edinburgh highlights the gendered inequity of memorialization efforts and the impact of limited female visibility on the storytelling potential of the cityscape. Such a perspective not only adds a distinct visual component but also brings my study full circle by exemplifying contemporary discussions on the role of gender in narrative-setting, the sociocultural relevance of monuments and memorials, and the nature of representation in public spaces.
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Date Issued
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2019
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Identifier
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CFE0007846, ucf:52811
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Format
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Document (PDF)
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007846
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Title
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'I AM A CRITICAL THINKER': EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SELF-CONCEPT AND CRITICAL THINKING ABILITY.
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Creator
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Antler, Melissa, Whitten, Shannon, University of Central Florida
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Abstract / Description
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Critical thinking is an academically coveted skill important to all areas of education (Halpern, 1998). The ability to think critically requires an individual to question and possibly reject accepted ideals and authorities. A strong self-concept may play an important role in this process. The present study hypothesized a positive relationship between total self-concept and critical thinking ability. An additional purpose of this study was to explore whether self-concept accounted for more of...
Show moreCritical thinking is an academically coveted skill important to all areas of education (Halpern, 1998). The ability to think critically requires an individual to question and possibly reject accepted ideals and authorities. A strong self-concept may play an important role in this process. The present study hypothesized a positive relationship between total self-concept and critical thinking ability. An additional purpose of this study was to explore whether self-concept accounted for more of the variance in critical thinking than other correlates of the ability, such as metacognition (Halpern, 1998; Magno, 2010) and openness to experience (Clifford, Boufal, & Kurtz, 2004). The hypothesis was supported; total self-concept significantly and positively correlated with the total score of critical thinking. Regression analyses revealed self-concept was a better predictor of critical thinking, accounting for 19.2% more variance in critical thinking than metacognition and openness to experience. Overall, the results suggest that nourishing students' self-concept may support their ability to think critically.
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Date Issued
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2013
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Identifier
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CFH0004378, ucf:45027
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Format
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Document (PDF)
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004378
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Title
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'Let Me Lock It Up': A Rhetorical Exploration of Identity and an Emergent Counterpublic Within the YouTube Beauty Community.
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Creator
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Street, Rachel, Edwards, Dustin, Wheeler, Stephanie, Pinkert, Laurie, University of Central Florida
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Abstract / Description
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In light of calls to study digital composition outside of school-based domains (e.g. Yancey), this project specifically explores a counterpublic in the YouTube beauty community that has arisen in response to the encroachment of and attempts to institutionalize the space. Utilizing iconographic tracking and rhetorical analysis, this study illuminates a network of discourse geared toward a more responsible and educated consumption of makeup and participation within the beauty community. This...
Show moreIn light of calls to study digital composition outside of school-based domains (e.g. Yancey), this project specifically explores a counterpublic in the YouTube beauty community that has arisen in response to the encroachment of and attempts to institutionalize the space. Utilizing iconographic tracking and rhetorical analysis, this study illuminates a network of discourse geared toward a more responsible and educated consumption of makeup and participation within the beauty community. This study found that within the beauty community, a counterpublic has formed in response to a more commodified, product-centered public sphere that has dominated the space and is most associated with well-known YouTube channels. As a result, many in the (")community(") exhibit dialogue that hints at a fracturing between an (")us(") and (")them(") mentality and find difficulty identifying with the current state of the space. In response, the discourse of the counterpublic(-)which promotes utilizing products you already own, focusing on more creative and original content, and influencers being true to their identities(-)is shared and circulated through tags like (")The Beauty Community Tag(") or (")The Truthful YouTuber Tag.(") This research space is of particular interest for the writing and rhetoric field because many young adults seek to enter this space as a career or creative outlet. As a result, it is crucial that we, as teachers and scholars, understand the rhetoric present within the community and the implications it has for composition practices and real-world bodies. This study illuminates one current discourse network aimed at an anti-consumerist participation in the community.
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Date Issued
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2019
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Identifier
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CFE0007728, ucf:52435
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Format
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Document (PDF)
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007728
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Title
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'NO HOME HERE': FEMALE SPACE AND THE MODERNIST AESTHETIC IN NELLA LARSEN'S QUICKSAND AND SYLVIA PLATH'S THE BELL JAR.
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Creator
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Cherinka, Julianna N, Mathes, Carmen Faye, University of Central Florida
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Abstract / Description
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In her 1929 essay "A Room of One's Own," Virginia Woolf famously asserts that "a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction" (4). This concept places an immediate importance on the role of the Modernist female subject as an artist and as an architect, constructing the places and spaces that she exists within. With Woolf's argument as its point of departure, this thesis investigates the theme of female space in two Modernist texts: Nella Larsen's Quicksand (1928)...
Show moreIn her 1929 essay "A Room of One's Own," Virginia Woolf famously asserts that "a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction" (4). This concept places an immediate importance on the role of the Modernist female subject as an artist and as an architect, constructing the places and spaces that she exists within. With Woolf's argument as its point of departure, this thesis investigates the theme of female space in two Modernist texts: Nella Larsen's Quicksand (1928) and Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar (1963). The respective protagonists of Quicksand and The Bell Jar, Helga Crane and Esther Greenwood, each undertake journeys to obtain spaces that are purely their own. However, this thesis positions each space that Helga and Esther occupy as both male-constructed and male-dominated in order to address the inherent gendering of space and its impact on the development of feminine identities. This thesis focuses specifically on the roles of the mother, the muse, and the female mentor, tracking the spaces in which Helga and Esther begin to adhere to these roles. Expanding on Lauren Berlant's theory of cruel optimism, this thesis will use the term "cruel femininity" to support its intervening claim that the respective relationships that Helga and Esther each have with their own feminine identities begin to turn cruel as they internalize the male-dominated spatial structures surrounding them. Overall, this thesis argues that there is no space in existence where Helga and Esther can realize their full potential as human beings, as long as the spatial structures within their communities continue to be controlled by hegemonic, patriarchal beliefs.
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Date Issued
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2018
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Identifier
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CFH2000412, ucf:45708
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Format
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Document (PDF)
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH2000412
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Title
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'The Tourist Soldier': Veterans Remember the American Occupation of Germany, 1950-1955.
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Creator
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Vance, Meghan, Lindsay, Anne, Lyons, Amelia, Beiler, Rosalind, University of Central Florida
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Abstract / Description
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Studies of postwar Germany, from 1945-1955, have concentrated on the American influence as a military occupier, the development of German reconstruction and national identity, and memory of this period from the German perspective. Within the memory analyses, firsthand accounts have been analyzed to understand the perspectives of Germans living through the postwar period. Absent from this historiography is an account of American memories and firsthand perspectives of the occupation,...
Show moreStudies of postwar Germany, from 1945-1955, have concentrated on the American influence as a military occupier, the development of German reconstruction and national identity, and memory of this period from the German perspective. Within the memory analyses, firsthand accounts have been analyzed to understand the perspectives of Germans living through the postwar period. Absent from this historiography is an account of American memories and firsthand perspectives of the occupation, particularly during the 1950-1955 period. This thesis employs oral histories of American veterans stationed in postwar Germany, American propaganda and popular cultural mediums during the early 1950s, and modern historiographical trends to provide an understanding of how Americans remember the German postwar decade. American veterans remembered this period, and their encounters with local Germans, as a positive experience. These positive memories were mediated by 1950s Cold War rhetoric and propaganda and were subsequently predicated upon the men's perspective as occupying soldiers. Their recollections align with American popular memory delineating the military occupation as ending in 1949 upon the creation of the Federal Republic of Germany, therefore overshadowing the 1950-1955 period of occupation. The ways in which Americans remember the postwar occupation in Germany, particularly from 1950-1955, inform broader memory and historical narrative trends of this era.
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Date Issued
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2015
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Identifier
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CFE0005732, ucf:50113
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Format
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Document (PDF)
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005732
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Title
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'Til Death Do I Wait: Experiences of Food Insecurity Among Elders on the Meals on Wheels Waiting List.
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Creator
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Gualtieri, Marie, Donley, Amy, Gay, David, Wright, James, University of Central Florida
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Abstract / Description
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Food insecurity is not a new phenomenon experienced by elderly persons living in the United States. In a recent report by Feeding America, approximately 4.8 million Americans over the age of 60 are food insecure, which has doubled since 2001, and is 50% higher than in 2007. Due to lack of funding to the program, Meals on Wheels by Seniors First is unable to give meals to seniors in the Central Florida area who are food insecure. Through structured face-to-face interviews, this study examines...
Show moreFood insecurity is not a new phenomenon experienced by elderly persons living in the United States. In a recent report by Feeding America, approximately 4.8 million Americans over the age of 60 are food insecure, which has doubled since 2001, and is 50% higher than in 2007. Due to lack of funding to the program, Meals on Wheels by Seniors First is unable to give meals to seniors in the Central Florida area who are food insecure. Through structured face-to-face interviews, this study examines elders on the program's waiting list and explores how this population obtains food if they are not being served through the program. Findings suggest that seniors on the waiting list are in need of the resource for survival, not convenience. This study has strong implications in which additional funding is needed as the Baby Boomer population ages and the need for food programs increases.
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Date Issued
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2014
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Identifier
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CFE0005175, ucf:50667
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Format
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Document (PDF)
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005175
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Title
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(")Why You Gotta Be So Mean?(") Examining The Impact Of Underlying Social Factors On Traditional And Cyberbullying Offending.
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Creator
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Strohacker, Emily, Huff-Corzine, Lin, Corzine, Harold, Hinojosa, Melanie, Bachmann, Michael, University of Central Florida
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Abstract / Description
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Instances of traditional school yard bullying among adolescents have been examined by researchers for decades. More recently, cyberbullying has been introduced among adolescents and has begun to be seen as a counterpart to traditional offending behaviors. Scholars have examined the rates of these types of offending, as well as the negative outcomes that result from victimization. However, studies examining the underlying factors that lead to these types of offending, specifically a comparison...
Show moreInstances of traditional school yard bullying among adolescents have been examined by researchers for decades. More recently, cyberbullying has been introduced among adolescents and has begun to be seen as a counterpart to traditional offending behaviors. Scholars have examined the rates of these types of offending, as well as the negative outcomes that result from victimization. However, studies examining the underlying factors that lead to these types of offending, specifically a comparison and combination of the two, are few and far between. This research examines how factors of strain, association with deviant peers, alcohol and/or drug use, and time spent with friends may influence an adolescent's likelihood to engage in any or all offending behaviors. Data are from the Health Behavior in School-Aged Children for which a national sample of 12,642 adolescents aged 10 to 17 years, in grades 5 through 10 were surveyed during the 2009-2010 school year, to assess behaviors that have been linked to health-risks among adolescents. Results indicate that specific factors of strain, drug and/or alcohol use, deviant peers, and time spent with peers significantly impact cyberbullying offending, traditional bullying offending, and both types of offending combined, among adolescents. The findings show that further action should be taken to reduce rates of all types of bullying among adolescents in schools and homes.
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Date Issued
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2017
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Identifier
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CFE0006666, ucf:51237
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Format
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Document (PDF)
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006666
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Title
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(&)nbsp;Bridging the Gap between ESOL and Native English Speakers in a Digital Collaborative Classroom.
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Creator
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Samuels, Shalander, Hopp, Carolyn, Pratt Marrett, Caroline, Nutta, Joyce, Kaplan, Jeffrey, University of Central Florida
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Abstract / Description
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The purpose of this dissertation in practice was to explore how to bridge the gap between ESOL students and native English speaking students in a collaborative learning environment in a middle school in Tangerine Florida. The gap in performance was highlighted because ESOL students failed to meet the same levels of academic achievement (based on the Florida Standard Assessment Test) as their native English-speaking counter parts. The intent of the dissertation was to design a framework that...
Show moreThe purpose of this dissertation in practice was to explore how to bridge the gap between ESOL students and native English speaking students in a collaborative learning environment in a middle school in Tangerine Florida. The gap in performance was highlighted because ESOL students failed to meet the same levels of academic achievement (based on the Florida Standard Assessment Test) as their native English-speaking counter parts. The intent of the dissertation was to design a framework that would meet the pedagogical needs of ESOL students and teachers who teach them. A pilot study was completed that included teachers both ESOL-endorsed and those who were not to determine their needs in terms of professional development that would lead to increased achievement among ESOL students. The study focused on digital schools within one school district. A qualitative research approach was used because it was found to be rigorous, reliable and valid (Morse, Barrett, Mayan, Olson (&) Spiers (2002). Results of the pilot study were intended to inform teachers and school administrators about how to ultimately improve ESOL student performance. The data used in the pilot study were drawn from focus groups as well as information retrieved from reflective teacher and student tools. The conceptual framework that focused the pilot study included socio-cultural theory (Vygotsky, 1986; Mercer, 2007), self-efficacy theory (Bandura, 1997a; Pajares, 1997) culturally responsive teaching theory (Ladson-Billings, 2006; Freire 2000), situated learning theory (Davin (&) Heineke, 2016) and second language acquisition theories (Chomsky, 1965; Ellis, 1997).The findings from the teacher focus groups suggested ways to bridge the gap between the ESOL students and native English speakers. A proposed framework to counter the problem and bridge the gap was designed as a pedagogical intervention (professional development) that would provide the information teachers lack about how to teach ESOL students effectively. The framework also served as a platform to connect and collaborate with other ESOL instructors as a resource and support throughout the school year. Additionally, a teacher-proposed idea was a middle school technology transition (MST2) beginner course for students entering a digital school to give them practice and build their self-efficacy on how to use the necessary applications for each core (FSA tested) class. The results also support the idea that concurrent ongoing professional development and a student introductory technology course throughout the school year could produce more favorable achievement scores of ESOL students, and reduce gaps between ESOL students and native English speaking students.
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Date Issued
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2017
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Identifier
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CFE0006789, ucf:51808
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Format
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Document (PDF)
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006789
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Title
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(In)Tangible Things.
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Creator
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Skaryd, Ryan, Uttich, Laurie, Roney, Lisa, Thaxton, Terry, University of Central Florida
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Abstract / Description
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(In)Tangible Things is a collection of memoir essays and poems that examines loss, pain, and identity. Many pieces explore familial ties through separation, secrecy, and divorce, while other stories and poems observe the author's connection to drag culture, sexuality, eating disorders, and time itself. Using techniques such as framing devices, backwards storytelling, and delineated narrative, the author invites the reader to experience memories and moments from his past that show consistency...
Show more(In)Tangible Things is a collection of memoir essays and poems that examines loss, pain, and identity. Many pieces explore familial ties through separation, secrecy, and divorce, while other stories and poems observe the author's connection to drag culture, sexuality, eating disorders, and time itself. Using techniques such as framing devices, backwards storytelling, and delineated narrative, the author invites the reader to experience memories and moments from his past that show consistency and change, betrayal and forgiveness.
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Date Issued
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2017
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Identifier
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CFE0006661, ucf:51215
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Format
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Document (PDF)
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006661
Pages