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Title: AN EXPLORATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YOUNG WOMEN'S BODY ESTEEM, STIGMA CONSCIOUSNESS, AND AMBIVALENT SEXISM.
Creator: Uribe, Manuela, Modianos, Doan T., University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This thesis seeks to explore how young women's body esteem is influenced by their beliefs about ambivalent sexism and stigma consciousness. In this study, a sample of 168 undergraduate female students at the University of Central Florida were asked to complete an online battery containing six psychological measures. The measures in this study included measures of body esteem and objectified body consciousness, perception and attitudes toward sexism, experiences with sexist events, and stigma...
Show moreThis thesis seeks to explore how young women's body esteem is influenced by their beliefs about ambivalent sexism and stigma consciousness. In this study, a sample of 168 undergraduate female students at the University of Central Florida were asked to complete an online battery containing six psychological measures. The measures in this study included measures of body esteem and objectified body consciousness, perception and attitudes toward sexism, experiences with sexist events, and stigma consciousness. The results showed an association between higher body esteem and higher beliefs in benevolent sexism, and no relationship was found between hostile sexism and body esteem. As expected, body consciousness was positively correlated with stigma consciousness and women who experienced more sexist events had higher stigma consciousness. Additionally, regression models predicting body esteem based on hostile sexism, benevolent sexism, and stigma consciousness were only significant for benevolent sexism. These findings suggest further research to explore body esteem in relation to sexism and stigma consciousness. The results of this study can help highlight the importance of a cultural context when addressing female body esteem issues.
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Date Issued: 2019
Identifier: CFH2000555, ucf:45695
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH2000555

Title: A CASE OF DOUBLE CONCIOUSNESS: AMERICO-LIBERIANS AND INDIGENOUS LIBERIAN RELATIONS 1840-1930.
Creator: Santana , Genesys, Gordon , Fon, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This study argues that the formation of Americo-Liberian identity overwhelmingly relied on White American middle class cultural values despite the founders' criticisms and rejection of racial oppression and slavery. Americo-Liberians' previous participation in a culture that downgrades African heritage fostered the internalization of Western notions of civilization and African inferiority that led them to establish an oppressive regime similar to the one they had escaped from, and even...
Show moreThis study argues that the formation of Americo-Liberian identity overwhelmingly relied on White American middle class cultural values despite the founders' criticisms and rejection of racial oppression and slavery. Americo-Liberians' previous participation in a culture that downgrades African heritage fostered the internalization of Western notions of civilization and African inferiority that led them to establish an oppressive regime similar to the one they had escaped from, and even enslaved the indigenous population, which they considered "uncivilized." The study thus investigates how formerly oppressed and enslaved blacks became oppressors and enslavers of other black people in the name of a "civilizing mission." The relationship that developed between Americo-Liberians and indigenous Liberians provides a case study to explore the impact of White supremacy ideology on enslaved Africans and racial uplift ideology. Building on contributions of social theory and conflict theory my analysis of Americo-Liberians demonstrates how social class and ideology interacted to produce socio-economic developments that led to the Liberian Civil War. This study covers the founding of Liberia as a republic during the 1840's through the League of Nation's intervention in 1928. It is during this time period that Americo-Liberians fostered an exploitative and colonizing relationship with the indigenous Liberian population. Previous scholarship regarding Liberia engages in descriptive analysis this study is the first to employ the theoretical framework of double-consciousness to further illuminate the ambivalent positions of the Americo-Liberians vis-à-vis indigenous Liberians
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Date Issued: 2012
Identifier: CFH0004216, ucf:44952
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004216

Title: WORKING HARD AND BARELY MAKING IT: IDEOLOGICAL CONTRADICTIONS AND THE WORKING POOR.
Creator: Kane, Wendi, Wright, James, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The existence of large, relatively comfortable, middle and working classes is what has set the advanced capitalist societies apart from most societies throughout history. These classes, while not quite "privileged," offer the hope of opportunity and upward social mobility for those who work hard. Yet in the last 30 years a growing class of "working poor" has emerged who invest many hours working but at wages that keep upward social mobility beyond their grasp. The existence of the working...
Show moreThe existence of large, relatively comfortable, middle and working classes is what has set the advanced capitalist societies apart from most societies throughout history. These classes, while not quite "privileged," offer the hope of opportunity and upward social mobility for those who work hard. Yet in the last 30 years a growing class of "working poor" has emerged who invest many hours working but at wages that keep upward social mobility beyond their grasp. The existence of the working poor, it seems, dispels a key element in the ideology of individualism; they work hard yet do not "get ahead." This study addresses the contradiction presented by the working poor; specifically, do the working poor support the ideology of individualism? Prior research finds that the disadvantaged justify the system that inhibits them from having a better quality of life (Jost, et al. 2003). This study, however, suggests that the working poor are more conscious of the ideology's failure to explain their lack of mobility in a system that promises opportunity to those who work hard. Research data were generated through the use of telephone surveys in five counties in Central Florida with approximately 1571 respondents. Several measures of "working poor" were created; moreover, respondents within these categories tended to disagree with the "work hard, get ahead" ideology. Respondents who viewed their financial situation as getting worse, unable to grasp the "upward mobility" promise of the American Dream, also significantly disagreed with the ideology.
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Date Issued: 2009
Identifier: CFE0002518, ucf:47665
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002518

Title: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CONSCIOUSNESS AND INTENTIONALITY.
Creator: Bell, Jordan, Cash, Mason, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Within the Philosophy of Mind two features of our mental life have been acknowledged as the most perplexing - consciousness, the phenomenal "what it is likeness" of our mental states, and intentionality, the aboutness or directedness of our mental states. As such, it has become commonplace to develop theories about these phenomena which seek to explain them naturalistically, that is, without resort to magic or miracles. Traditionally this has been done by analyzing consciousness and...
Show moreWithin the Philosophy of Mind two features of our mental life have been acknowledged as the most perplexing - consciousness, the phenomenal "what it is likeness" of our mental states, and intentionality, the aboutness or directedness of our mental states. As such, it has become commonplace to develop theories about these phenomena which seek to explain them naturalistically, that is, without resort to magic or miracles. Traditionally this has been done by analyzing consciousness and intentionality apart from one another. However, in more recent years the tide has turned. In contemporary theories these phenomena are typically analyzed in terms of the other. This results in two competing views: Representationalism, which seeks to ground consciousness in intentionality, and Phenomenalism, which seeks to ground intentionality in consciousness. David Chalmers has proposed an alternative view to these which takes consciousness and intentionality as essentially interdependent, neither more fundamental than the other. This thesis explores the motivations for Representationalism and Phenomenalism, outlines their extraneous commitments, and analyzes their merits - as well as assessing whether Chalmers' view is a defensible middle ground. This involves an analysis of the metaphysical doctrine of physicalism, phenomenal consciousness, intentionality, and the nature of mental content. I argue that the view which Chalmers advocates is the best supported. Yet, I argue, it could benefit by adopting a thoroughgoing externalism of mental content.
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Date Issued: 2013
Identifier: CFH0004381, ucf:44988
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004381

Title: SIGNALS: THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN LITERACY, GENDER, AND SEMIOTICS.
Creator: Parker, Patricia, Preston-Sidler, Leandra, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The purpose of this study is to examine adult literacy beyond its constraints as a social problem and instead consider the implications of illiteracy as a particular form of lived experience, analogous to women's oppression at large. Through a complex system of meaning making, the knowledge accrued by illiterate adults is qualitatively different, and examining these differences in terms of their correlation to coping mechanisms developed in the face of social alienation and diminished...
Show moreThe purpose of this study is to examine adult literacy beyond its constraints as a social problem and instead consider the implications of illiteracy as a particular form of lived experience, analogous to women's oppression at large. Through a complex system of meaning making, the knowledge accrued by illiterate adults is qualitatively different, and examining these differences in terms of their correlation to coping mechanisms developed in the face of social alienation and diminished professional prospects yields a greater understanding of class privilege and how nontraditional learners fit into a larger social structure. From the perspective of academic feminism, adult illiteracy presents several problems regarding the scope of an inclusive feminist community that acknowledges privilege and difference. The primary method through which information regarding feminism is conferred is printed materials, which utilize highly specific, specialized jargon, and unwittingly create an exclusive community marred by internalized racism and class stratifications. This study explores other methods through which feminist ideation might theoretically be possible, i.e. cultural "reading" communities and vocational and continuing education programs focused on cultural competencies, as women come out of their imposed silences and become aware of their circumstances in a way that resembles feminist thought, if perhaps without sophisticated language with which to communicate those ideals. In this way, feminist ideation and semiotics tie in together, as attitudinal change may occur without the semantic realization of what this entails. This goal of this paper is also, in part, to justify why acknowledging gendered learning differences and a particular female subjectivity for adult literacy clients will yield better results for their self-valuation, as gender is a component of diversity all but ignored within the scheme of adult literacy pedagogical theory.
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Date Issued: 2012
Identifier: CFH0004266, ucf:44963
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004266

Title: TWO ESSAYS ON SATISFACTION.
Creator: BINDROO, VISHAL, ECHAMBADI, RAJ, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This dissertation consists of two essays that study the relevant boundary conditions to the relationship between the customer satisfaction and loyalty. Retaining current customers is critical to a firm's performance and has been well-established in the literature. Extant literature tells us that loyal customers are typically less price sensitive, spend more than non-loyal customers, less expensive to retain, and more importantly, provide new referrals through positive word of mouth. In...
Show moreThis dissertation consists of two essays that study the relevant boundary conditions to the relationship between the customer satisfaction and loyalty. Retaining current customers is critical to a firm's performance and has been well-established in the literature. Extant literature tells us that loyal customers are typically less price sensitive, spend more than non-loyal customers, less expensive to retain, and more importantly, provide new referrals through positive word of mouth. In the first essay, drawing from decision justifiability theory, I posit that consideration set size and price-consciousness moderate the relationship between satisfaction and loyalty. At higher levels of consideration set sizes, the positive relationship between satisfaction and loyalty is likely to be weakened. However, this two-way interaction effect is seen to impact high and low price-conscious consumers differently. Specifically, I show that satisfied, low price-conscious consumers with higher consideration set sizes will be more loyal vis-a-vis high price-conscious consumers with similar satisfaction levels and set sizes. These theoretical hypotheses are tested in four separate studies. Specifically, I use secondary data and three experimental studies. All my hypotheses including the mediating role of decision justifiability are supported. The second essay investigates the role of satisfaction on loyalty intentions for firms that offer both the product and the product-related augmented services. In the industry that I studied for this question, buying a product requires an extraordinarily high capital outlay; however, the profitability of the firm is dependent on the services offered to the customers. The services market is a very competitive market as well in this industry. So, how should a firm manage this portfolio that includes both products and services? I draw and extend the consumption system model proposed by Mittal, Kumar and Tsiros (Journal of Marketing, 1999). Specifically, I propose a curvilinear relationship for both product and services satisfaction on loyalty intentions and posit synergistic interactions between them. I test this model using longitudinal data spanning five years across multiple countries that were obtained from a multinational company. Analyses reveal support for the proposed hypotheses.
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Date Issued: 2009
Identifier: CFE0002768, ucf:48114
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002768

Title: Hegemony of the Fourth and Fifth Estates: Exploration of Ideology and False Consciousness in the Media.
Creator: Turner, Anna, Lynxwiler, John, Grauerholz, Liz, Gay, David, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Hegemony is a process of dialectic political control. On one side, intellectuals use political and economic channels to convey an ideology, a set of principles, to the public, and on the other side, the public accepts this ideology, thus consenting to the status quo (Boggs, 1976). Research suggests that media are hegemonic entities that reinforce ideology (Bielby (&) Moloney, 2008; Lewis, 1999a). Traditional news media comprise the fourth estate, while the blogosphere, often heralded as media...
Show moreHegemony is a process of dialectic political control. On one side, intellectuals use political and economic channels to convey an ideology, a set of principles, to the public, and on the other side, the public accepts this ideology, thus consenting to the status quo (Boggs, 1976). Research suggests that media are hegemonic entities that reinforce ideology (Bielby (&) Moloney, 2008; Lewis, 1999a). Traditional news media comprise the fourth estate, while the blogosphere, often heralded as media critics, constitutes the fifth. Limited research exists on the fifth estate, which, due to the ubiquity of the internet, has emerged as a public information source. On September 17, 2011, approximately 1,000 people gathered in Zuccotti Park in New York City's Wall Street financial district to protest social and economic inequality. The Occupy Wall Street movement garnered the attention of mainstream media, and it continued to do so for a sustained period of time. The movement also had a presence in the fifth estate. The subject of the movement and its presence in both estates, make it an ideal topic for comparing hegemony in the fourth and fifth estates.This content analysis explored the existence of hegemonic frames in news and blog coverage of Occupy Wall Street. Hegemonic frames existed to some extent in both estates, especially frames that highlighted deviant aspects of the movement. Counterhegemonic frames also existed in both estates, with a tendency to call into question acts of the government. Although counterhegemonic frames were present in both news articles and fifth-estate blogs, the fifth estate was more likely to question corporations, implying that the fourth estate was ignoring corporate malfeasance, which could be a factor in organizing consent of the people to the ideological status quo.
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Date Issued: 2016
Identifier: CFE0006405, ucf:51465
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006405

Title: HENRY JAMES, VIRGINIA WOOLF, AND FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT: INTERIORITY, CONSCIOUSNESS, TIME, AND SPACE IN THE MODERNIST NOVEL AND THE HOME.
Creator: Michaelsen, Carol, Smith, Ernest, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: During the Modernist period, generally defined between the years 1890 and 1945, artists were attempting to break away from previous forms and styles. For example, writers like Henry James and Virginia Woolf sought to change the novel by exploring the consciousness of characters, while playing with the ideas of time and space to create the present moment. The thesis explores the modernist techniques used by James and Woolf, but also connects the work of the writers with the architecture of...
Show moreDuring the Modernist period, generally defined between the years 1890 and 1945, artists were attempting to break away from previous forms and styles. For example, writers like Henry James and Virginia Woolf sought to change the novel by exploring the consciousness of characters, while playing with the ideas of time and space to create the present moment. The thesis explores the modernist techniques used by James and Woolf, but also connects the work of the writers with the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright. Using Joseph Frank's theory of spatial form, my work explores the similarities between Wright's designs of private residences with the design of space in the novel. All three artists, I argue, are working with spatial form, blending interior with exterior, to provide the reader and the dweller with the opportunity to experience an organic unity, which ultimately results in a freezing of the moment. In addition to Frank's theory, I also incorporate Stanley Fish and Reader Response theory and William James's Principles of Psychology. The reader and the dweller must actively engage with the structure, whether a text or the home, to develop and realize the possibilities of spatial form. Also, William James's ideas about the mind and consciousness influenced Henry James and Virginia Woolf, especially in their focus on character, rather than description. I have chosen James's The Turn of the Screw and The Wings of the Dove along with Woolf's To the Lighthouse and The Waves to study with Wright's Prairie and Usonian residences. Each chapter looks at one novel and Wright's corresponding work during approximately the same time period. By connecting literature and architecture, the thesis provides new ways of thinking about the two disciplines, especially concerning interiority and consciousness. James, Woolf, and Wright are all experimenting with time and space to create a unified experience, and the striking parallels between their work deserves more attention.
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Date Issued: 2006
Identifier: CFE0001280, ucf:46925
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001280

Title: TRUE WILL VS. CONSCIOUS WILL: AN EXPLORATION OF ALEISTER CROWLEY'SCONCEPTS OF TRUE WILL AND CONSCIOUS WILL AND ITS POSSIBLEAPPLICATIONS TO A MIDSUMMER NIGHTS DREAM, MARISOL, AND WICKED.
Creator: Payne, John, Listengarten, Julia, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: In our lives we will have to make hundreds upon thousands of choices. The effects of these choices will follow us with varying intervals; some effects may be brief while others may literally last a lifetime. In these moments that we are forced to chose, it ultimately comes down to two options, what we should do, and what we want to do. Essentially, it is a choice between the head and the heart. Playwrights depend on these moments of choice, for it is the basis of almost all plays. At some...
Show moreIn our lives we will have to make hundreds upon thousands of choices. The effects of these choices will follow us with varying intervals; some effects may be brief while others may literally last a lifetime. In these moments that we are forced to chose, it ultimately comes down to two options, what we should do, and what we want to do. Essentially, it is a choice between the head and the heart. Playwrights depend on these moments of choice, for it is the basis of almost all plays. At some point, the protagonist must make a choice, even if the choice is not to choose. In the early part of the 20th Century, a religious philosopher by the name of Aleister Crowley helped to define these choices, or as he referred to them, Wills. In essence, he stated that everyone has a True Will and a conscious will, and the path that you will ultimately follow is contingent on the choices you make in your life. Following your True Will, the path of 'the heart' will lead you to a sense of Nirvana, while following your conscious will, the path of 'the head' leads to a life unfulfilled. While some called him demonic (he occasionally referred to himself as 'The Beast With Two Backs) others saw him as a sage – someone to esoterically explain the chaotic and industrial world of the early 1900's. Aleister Crowley seemed to be one of those few men that you either loved, or hated, or hated to love. At the dawn of the 20th Century, he was an English philosopher and religious guru that made a call to arms to the general populous to start living a better life. His theories will be explained fully in Chapter One, but ultimately he wanted everyone to achieve their True Will and leave their conscious wills by the wayside. He felt that this process could be achieved through what he referred to as his 'theorems' on magick. It is unknown exactly how the idea came to him to add the 'k' to the original magic; however speculation reveals he might have taken from the original Greek word magikE. Contrary to the modern definition of magic (the art of producing illusions by sleight of hand), Crowley felt that his magick was significantly more complex. Pulling on philosophies from the Egyptians and the Celts along with basic Buddhist principles, he defined his magick within his twenty-eight 'theorems'. Ultimately, he philosophized that magick was a way to enlighten a person, or, for the purposes of this thesis a character's True Will4 and to avoid following their conscious will. In layman's terms, Crowley saw it as an argument between the head (conscious will) and the heart (True Will). While the main focus of this thesis is on the tension and outcome of the decision of a character to follow their True Will or their conscious will, it is impossible to talk about these two concepts without discussing, at least in part, magick. Crowley saw magick as the practice and process to achieve True Will. This study, therefore, involves both homonyms, magic and magick. By applying this process as defined by Crowley in his self-named theorems to plays and musicals that have been defined as strictly 'magic,' I am looking for not only the exact moment in which the main protagonists in each play define and execute their decision to follow their True or conscious Wills, but also to critically examine their journey to that fatal decision. I describe it as such because I feel that a characters fate may truly depend on the choice that they make. These philosophies are not new to the philosophical world. Other theorists such as Schopenhauer and Nietzsche and their relation to Crowley's theories will be discussed later; however I felt that because Crowley is the one who his responsible for rejuvenating the word 'magick' from the Greeks in the 20th Century, I should be able to use his theories as a modern lens to examine A Midsummer Nights Dream, Marisol, and Wicked. I plan to take plays that cross both genre and era and consider not only (1) what can be illuminated using this 'Crowlean lens', but I also to highlight (2) any universal truths, by which I mean any ideological or philosophical ideas that appear in all three plays, that can be found in works as diverse as the ones that I have chosen. While their connection to True Will may be tangential in nature, if there are things in common in these plays that are brought to light using Crowley's lens, then I feel it is worth noting. By examining these two factors I will be able to see if critics have accurately defined these plays. My goal is to add the 'Crowlean lens' to the already existing approaches to critically examining a theatrical piece. This lens, as defined before, is simply taking Crowley's concepts of True Will and conscious will and their link to the progression of magick within a character to illuminate the characters choices leading up to their breaking point in which they must ask themselves "Do I chose what I should do, or what I want to do?" The three plays I chose were done for specific reasons. The basic criterion was to choose on a basis of (1) chronology, (2) genre, (3) and magical reference5. I took three plays that entertained the religious, philosophical, and fantastical nature of what I felt best applied to Crowley's theories. Keeping in mind that Crowley interpreted his magick as a philosophy, a religion, and a way of life to ultimately achieving True Will, I felt it pertinent to explore these aspects of each play as well. In the musical Wicked, the philosophical nature of the piece asks the question 'Are people born wicked? Or do they have wickedness thrust upon them?' This question can be answered through a variety of subjects. By exploring these issues within the context of its main character, Elphaba, (pronounced EL-fa-ba), and a variety of themes throughout this musical (including behavior, appearance, deception, honesty, courage and labeling) we find that True Will and conscious will in the land of Oz are flowering. Defining our True Will, according to Crowley, takes constant affirmations and diligent calculations of our feelings and utilizing those to aid in making the right choice for that specific moment6. In this fashion, Marisol marries the idea of what the author calls 'magical realism' in a post-apocalyptic New York City with a fervent religiosity all while underscoring the political nature of the 1980s indigent cleanup initiated by then mayor Ed Koch. Through the character of Marisol Perez, we find that not only is the choice between True Will and conscious confusing, but it can be potentially lethal. Within the structure of this play is also where Crowley's spiritual views on True Will and conscious will become highlighted. The Lovers (Helena, Demetrius, Hermia, and Lysander) in Shakespeare's fantastical A Midsummer Night's Dream is the perfect backdrop to explore Crowley's more eccentric philosophies on magick and how these philosophies relate to True and conscious will. In essence, I plan to not only explore the choices that these four individuals make due to acts of both types of magic(k), but their ultimate consequences as well. It also must be noted that during the process of this thesis, the one overarching theme throughout all three plays dealt with Crowley's theory of self-preservation. I feel that this is innately tied into the idea of True Will. By achieving True Will, we are inherently attempting to make the best choices for ourselves. This inherently keeps alive the innate human instinct of survival. At the end of this thesis, I hope to defend that Crowley's concepts of True Will and conscious will, when applied in tandem with Crowley's concepts of magick, can be a valid lens to examine theatrical works, old and new alike.
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Date Issued: 2008
Identifier: CFE0002456, ucf:47712
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002456

Title: THREE WAVES OF UNDERGROUND FEMINISM IN Ã‚Â"SOFTÃ‚Â" CONSCIOUS-RAISING NOVELS.
Creator: Perez, Jeannina, Jones, Anna, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: In the chapters of my thesis, I explore how Ã‚Â"softÃ‚Â" consciousness-raising novels of the first, second and third-waves of feminism practice underground feminism by covertly exposing womenÃ‚Â's socio-political issues outside of the confines of feminist rhetoric. In moving away from the negative connotations of political language, the authors enable the education of female audiences otherwise out of reach. Working from and extending...
Show moreIn the chapters of my thesis, I explore how Ã‚Â"softÃ‚Â" consciousness-raising novels of the first, second and third-waves of feminism practice underground feminism by covertly exposing womenÃ‚Â's socio-political issues outside of the confines of feminist rhetoric. In moving away from the negative connotations of political language, the authors enable the education of female audiences otherwise out of reach. Working from and extending on various theorists, I construct a theoretical model for what I term underground feminism. Running on the principal of conducting feminist activism without using feminist rhetoric, underground feminism challenges the notion that Ã‚Â"subtleÃ‚Â" feminism means weak feminism. In illustrating how underground feminism works in novels and in physical activism, I hope to encourage the recognition of the political utility of womenÃ‚Â's writings that do not fit the strict archetypes of feminist authorship. Analyzing the effectiveness of covert feminist conversion narratives, I discuss one soft consciousness-raising novel for each wave. The novelsÃ‚Â--Sarah GrandÃ‚Â's The Heavenly Twins (1893), Dorothy BryantÃ‚Â's Ella PriceÃ‚Â's Journal (1972), and Helen FieldingÃ‚Â's Bridget Jones's Diary (1996)Ã‚Â--accused by scholars of employing weak feminist politics, are investigated as feminist literature that disidentifies with the feminist label with the possibility of facilitating a wide spread conversion process in Ã‚Â"would beÃ‚Â" feminists. After analyzing how the novels place womenÃ‚Â's issues at the center of discourse by discussing female education, womenÃ‚Â's voice, and narrative control, I consider how the underground feminism implicit in the texts extends to activism outside of literature. I also end by arguing that these novels enable a more intricate conversation about womenÃ‚Â's issues in which the voices of both self-identified and non-identified feminists are recognized.
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Date Issued: 2010
Identifier: CFE0003329, ucf:48456
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003329

Title: THE REBIRTH OF CONSCIOUSNESS.
Creator: Blaszak, Urszula, Hall, Scott, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Human beings encounter cascades of a plethora of experiences, one after another, every single microsecond of our lives. There are many things happening around. The world is full of events and occurrences. As they happen, the mind reacts to every individual input. This is a very exhausting and difficult. Thus, people have developed a process of self-defense against this horrible mishmash of information. Their minds have this amazing capacity of sorting them out and making sense out of them....
Show moreHuman beings encounter cascades of a plethora of experiences, one after another, every single microsecond of our lives. There are many things happening around. The world is full of events and occurrences. As they happen, the mind reacts to every individual input. This is a very exhausting and difficult. Thus, people have developed a process of self-defense against this horrible mishmash of information. Their minds have this amazing capacity of sorting them out and making sense out of them. Humankind's survival depends on that. If one does not sort all this information out, one might not be able to make a simplest decision. As humans process the information, they learn to ignore and forget. They focus on their feelings and emotions. They forget the logic. The oversimplification process begins. Humans create rigid systems of oversimplified formulas. They assign adjectives to things, occurrences, and other people. The number of those adjectives is small. After assigning, those adjectives obscure everything else. A new world is created, stupid, limited, lazy, and in the end making humans very easy to control. What starts as a basic survival process ends up as a tool one can use to destroy the owners of the mind. In the end, the birth of consciousness leads to its death. My work fights this process. It aims to put a person back into that state of shock created by a mishmash of information and thus create the rebirth of consciousness.
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Date Issued: 2007
Identifier: CFE0001673, ucf:47195
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001673

Title: THE REPRESENTATION OF POVERTY IN GREAT DEPRESSIONAMERICAN LITERATURE.
Creator: Austin, Cavel, Olan, Elsie, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The objective of this thesis is to explore how American authors represented poverty across different states during the Depression Era. I have chosen to review social reform author John Steinbeck, and proletariat authors, Michael Gold, Meridel Le Sueur, and William Attaway. Before addressing the issues presented in the data collection tools (novels): The Grapes of Wrath, Jews Without Money, The Girl, and Blood on the Forge, I reviewed the fundamentals of the events leading up to the crash of...
Show moreThe objective of this thesis is to explore how American authors represented poverty across different states during the Depression Era. I have chosen to review social reform author John Steinbeck, and proletariat authors, Michael Gold, Meridel Le Sueur, and William Attaway. Before addressing the issues presented in the data collection tools (novels): The Grapes of Wrath, Jews Without Money, The Girl, and Blood on the Forge, I reviewed the fundamentals of the events leading up to the crash of the stock market, which spiraled the United States and the world at large in the greatest Depression ever known. In this thesis, I have also outlined a summary of the novels for the benefit of readers who may not have had the opportunity to read them. I have applied a Marxist literary critical analysis to the preceding novels highlighting three overarching concepts of the theory: economic power, materialism versus spirituality, and class conflict. Evolving from these concepts are the key tenets of Marxism: base, superstructure, hegemony, commodification, class conflict, and false consciousness. In the literary critical analysis, I applied these key tenets to the plot of each novel in order to underscore the ideologies of Marxist theorists with regards to the existence of class divisions and how this division creates class conflict between the bourgeoisie and the proletariats.
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Date Issued: 2014
Identifier: CFH0004708, ucf:45397
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004708

Title: THE IMPACT OF MEDITATION AND MINDFULNESS IN THE ELEMENTARY CLASSROOM: A REVIEW OF RESEARCH LITERATURE ACROSS FIVE DISCIPLINES.
Creator: Routhier-Martin, Kayli, Killingsworth Roberts, Sherron, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Mindfulness meditation programs, benefits, and outcomes were examined through research previously conducted and published by professionals within five differing disciplines: health and wellness, psychology, elementary education, exceptional education, and medicine. The goal was to find common themes within the differing disciplines in order to gather information about the effectiveness of a mindfulness meditation program to be used in an elementary classroom. In this thesis, the chapter of...
Show moreMindfulness meditation programs, benefits, and outcomes were examined through research previously conducted and published by professionals within five differing disciplines: health and wellness, psychology, elementary education, exceptional education, and medicine. The goal was to find common themes within the differing disciplines in order to gather information about the effectiveness of a mindfulness meditation program to be used in an elementary classroom. In this thesis, the chapter of Health and Wellness is a review of literature that tells the benefits found within meditators, which are not found within non-meditators. The chapter of Psychology explains the social-emotional needs of students, the causes of stress and anxieties amongst students, and the benefits that meditation provides in order to counter the negative effects of stress, anxiety, poverty, etc. The chapter of Elementary Education reviews research literature on the existing mindfulness meditation programs within the United States. This chapter also describes the implementation of such a program in an elementary school, as well as the documented data of the outcomes of the programs. The chapter of Exceptional Education is a review of the research literature on the benefits mindfulness meditation has on students with exceptionalities, such as specific learning disabilities, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism spectrum disorder. The chapter of Medicine is a retelling of previously published scholarly articles that list the neurological benefits of meditation, and also references the negative side effects to the currently prescribed medications that are being used in the treatment of ADHD.
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Date Issued: 2015
Identifier: CFH0004877, ucf:45424
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004877

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.
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Date Issued: 2018
Identifier: CFE0007049, ucf:52022
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007049

Title: THE INCOMPATIBILITY OF FREEDOM OF THE WILL AND ANTHROPOLOGICAL PHYSICALISM.
Creator: Gonzalez, Ariel, Rodgers, Travis, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Many contemporary naturalistic philosophers have taken it for granted that a robust theory of free will, one which would afford us with an agency substantial enough to render us morally responsible for our actions, is itself not conceptually compatible with the philosophical theory of naturalism. I attempt to account for why it is that free will (in its most substantial form) cannot be plausibly located within a naturalistic understanding of the world. I consider the issues surrounding an...
Show moreMany contemporary naturalistic philosophers have taken it for granted that a robust theory of free will, one which would afford us with an agency substantial enough to render us morally responsible for our actions, is itself not conceptually compatible with the philosophical theory of naturalism. I attempt to account for why it is that free will (in its most substantial form) cannot be plausibly located within a naturalistic understanding of the world. I consider the issues surrounding an acceptance of a robust theory of free will within a naturalistic framework. Timothy O'Connor's reconciliatory effort in maintaining both a scientifically naturalist understanding of the human person and a full-blooded theory of agent-causal libertarian free will is considered. I conclude that Timothy O'Connor's reconciliatory model cannot be maintained and I reference several conceptual difficulties surrounding the reconciliation of agent-causal libertarian properties with physical properties that haunt the naturalistic libertarian.
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Date Issued: 2014
Identifier: CFH0004628, ucf:45292
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004628

consciousness (6)	+ -
Chalmers (2)	+ -
Philosophy (2)	+ -
ideology (2)	+ -
physicalism (2)	+ -

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A.I. (1)	+ -
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Agent-Causal (1)	+ -
Agent-Cause (1)	+ -
Ali (1)	+ -
Alternate Possibilities (1)	+ -
Alternative Possibilities (1)	+ -
Ambivalent Sexism (1)	+ -
American Dream (1)	+ -
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Anthropocentrism (1)	+ -
Artificial Intelligence (1)	+ -
Automated Labor (1)	+ -
Automation (1)	+ -
Base (1)	+ -
Blaszak (1)	+ -
Blood on the Forge (1)	+ -
Bridget Jones's Diary (1)	+ -
Categorical Ability (1)	+ -
Character Analysis (1)	+ -
Cialdini (1)	+ -
Class Conflict (1)	+ -
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ETD Collection (8)	+ -
Honors Collection (7)	+ -

University of Central Florida (15)	+ -
Austin, Cavel (1)	+ -
BINDROO, VISHAL (1)	+ -
Bell, Jordan (1)	+ -
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Brenckle, Martha (1)	+ -
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ECHAMBADI, RAJ (1)	+ -
Gay, David (1)	+ -
Gonzalez, Ariel (1)	+ -
Gordon , Fon (1)	+ -
Grauerholz, Liz (1)	+ -
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Jones, Anna (1)	+ -
Jones, Natasha (1)	+ -
Kane, Wendi (1)	+ -
Killingsworth Roberts, Sherron (1)	+ -
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Rodgers, Travis (1)	+ -
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