Current Search: cultural anthropology (x)
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(1 - 8 of 8)
- Title
- ETHNOGRAPHIC REFLECTION ON GROUP FORMATION IN BLIZZARDÂÂ'S ÂÂ"WORLD OF WARCRAFTÂÂ".
- Creator
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Spottke, John, Matejowsky, Ty, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Cyberanthropology or the anthropology of cyber space/culture is an emerging subfield of cultural anthropology that deals with the varied integration of human beings and technology. This specialized area of study focuses on topics ranging from new technologies used in ethnographic research to information and communication technologies utilized by specific societal groups. Communication technology encompasses the World Wide Web, email, and online multiperson interactive spaces such as chatrooms...
Show moreCyberanthropology or the anthropology of cyber space/culture is an emerging subfield of cultural anthropology that deals with the varied integration of human beings and technology. This specialized area of study focuses on topics ranging from new technologies used in ethnographic research to information and communication technologies utilized by specific societal groups. Communication technology encompasses the World Wide Web, email, and online multiperson interactive spaces such as chatrooms and video games. In this work, I ethnographically investigate human social interactions in the online gaming realm of World of Warcraft. On the whole, the expanding numbers of virtual communities in existence today offer new and exciting realms for social scientists in general, and anthropologists in particular, to expand their knowledge of social interaction. During the period between August 2007 and May 2009 I ÂÂ"livedÂÂ" with the players of WoW as a participant observer. The culmination of this research spotlights virtual group formation and dynamics from an anthropological perspective and is intended to pave the way for future research.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2010
- Identifier
- CFE0003462, ucf:48393
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003462
- Title
- CRYSTAL HEALING PRACTICES IN THE WESTERN WORLD AND BEYOND.
- Creator
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Carlos, Kristine D, Matejowsky, Ty, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Humans have been using crystals for various healing and ritual reasons for centuries. Both geographically and culturally, a diverse range of groups have turned to crystals and gemstones to address diverse needs over the millennia. While the oldest legends of crystal magic date back to the mythical ancient continent of Atlantis whose people allegedly used crystals for telepathic communication (Raphael 1985), it is believed that the crystal customs continued to perpetuate in Egypt, South...
Show moreHumans have been using crystals for various healing and ritual reasons for centuries. Both geographically and culturally, a diverse range of groups have turned to crystals and gemstones to address diverse needs over the millennia. While the oldest legends of crystal magic date back to the mythical ancient continent of Atlantis whose people allegedly used crystals for telepathic communication (Raphael 1985), it is believed that the crystal customs continued to perpetuate in Egypt, South America, and Tibet over subsequent centuries. Over recent decades, a renewed interest in crystals and gemstones has emerged in various New Age and mainstream contexts. In this thesis, I consider the 'explanations' for crystal and spiritual healing in the following interest areas: Great Britain, Indian Hinduism, and among various Native American groups.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2018
- Identifier
- CFH2000283, ucf:45883
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH2000283
- Title
- THE EFFECTS OF WESTERN MEDICINE ON THE LIVELIHOOD OF ZULU TRADITIONAL HERBAL HEALERS IN SOUTH AFRICA.
- Creator
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Bahamonde, Holly, Reyes-Foster, Beatriz, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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The majority of South African citizens experience inadequate healthcare due to underfunding, mismanagement, staff shortages, and infrastructure problems. Before a healthcare system was created, the sick turned to traditional herbal healers for care. South Africa's Zulu healers possess specialized knowledge of local plants and medicine thought to have physical and spiritual healing properties. The country's increasing reliance on Western biomedicine has created a current concern from...
Show moreThe majority of South African citizens experience inadequate healthcare due to underfunding, mismanagement, staff shortages, and infrastructure problems. Before a healthcare system was created, the sick turned to traditional herbal healers for care. South Africa's Zulu healers possess specialized knowledge of local plants and medicine thought to have physical and spiritual healing properties. The country's increasing reliance on Western biomedicine has created a current concern from indigenous medicine conservationists regarding the future of this kind of knowledge. In order to assess the effects of Western medicine on traditional healing practices, I collected data on the various uses of traditional medicine, the frequency in which it is used relative to Western medicine, and how it is maintained in the community. The data identified the various uses and potential problems of Western medicine and Zulu traditional herbal practice in helping the community. The traditional herbal healers revealed close connections between the informational, spiritual, physical, and cultural components of the practice that characterize its livelihood and practice for generations to come. This information allows for a greater understanding of how culture and medicinal knowledge can be entwined together and the positive or negative effects of biomedicine interacting with traditional medicine to help solve sicknesses in not only South Africa, but potentially in our global community.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2015
- Identifier
- CFH0004892, ucf:45419
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004892
- Title
- FAIRY FORTS AND THE BANSHEE IN MODERN COASTAL SLIGO, IRELAND: AN ETHNOGRAPHY OF LOCAL BELIEFS AND INTERPRETATIONS OF THESE TRADITIONS.
- Creator
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Tillesen, Brian, Zorn, Elayne, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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This thesis examines issues of cultural identity and modernity, and the anthropology of spirituality and sacred sites by conducting ethnographic research on fairy beliefs in contemporary Ireland. Irish folk belief has traditionally identified a spirit world intertwined with our own which is inhabited by spirits, often collectively referred to as fairies. Belief in these spirits was once widespread. My research sought to determine the prevalence of these traditional beliefs among modern Irish...
Show moreThis thesis examines issues of cultural identity and modernity, and the anthropology of spirituality and sacred sites by conducting ethnographic research on fairy beliefs in contemporary Ireland. Irish folk belief has traditionally identified a spirit world intertwined with our own which is inhabited by spirits, often collectively referred to as fairies. Belief in these spirits was once widespread. My research sought to determine the prevalence of these traditional beliefs among modern Irish people within my research area, as well as differences in belief across variables including age, gender, and religious preference. I conducted eight weeks of ethnographic fieldwork during June-August 2008 in and around Sligo Town in County Sligo, Ireland. I selected County Sligo as a research site because it is a sparsely populated, largely rural area, identified in an earlier major study of Irish folklore as a region where belief in the Irish spirit world persisted more strongly than in other parts of the country. My primary research methodology was to conduct structured and unstructured interviews, complemented by visual site surveys. In the preparation of this thesis I utilized data from 52 Sligo residents plus ten other visitors to the area from surrounding Irish counties. While my research suggests that few Sligo residents from the project area continue to believe in the literal existence of fairies, it also shows a much more common belief in a ÂÂ"powerÂÂ" associated with sites identified as ÂÂ"fairy forts,ÂÂ" which are natural features of the landscape or the remains of ancient burials or dwellings apocryphally endowed by folk tradition with supernatural or mysterious energies. These beliefs led to a taboo against intruding on, altering, or destroying these ÂÂ"fortsÂÂ" that is still very much alive today. Additionally I was able to discuss at length the subject of the Irish death-herald spirit called the banshee (bean sidhe)¬ with several study participants. Although it can be classified under the umbrella label of ÂÂ"fairyÂÂ", my research indicates that the banshee is seen as a stand-apart element of Irish tradition by research area residents, and is believed in by those who do not otherwise profess a belief in ÂÂ"fairiesÂÂ" in general.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2010
- Identifier
- CFE0003185, ucf:48610
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003185
- Title
- UNDERSTANDING THE FEMALE CONCEPTUALIZATION OF SEXUAL ADDICTION AND THE ROLE OF ADDICTION TREATMENT.
- Creator
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Douglass, Megan, Mishtal, Joanna, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Beginning with the diagnosis of nymphomania in the 19th Century, there has been widespread and continued interest across the mental health and bio-medical realm of what constitutes normality of female sexual behavior, and of the boundary at which sexual desire is deemed to be excessive, and thus abnormal. However, research questions that specifically investigate the subjective female voice and perspective in considerations of so-called hypersexuality or sex addiction remain understudied. This...
Show moreBeginning with the diagnosis of nymphomania in the 19th Century, there has been widespread and continued interest across the mental health and bio-medical realm of what constitutes normality of female sexual behavior, and of the boundary at which sexual desire is deemed to be excessive, and thus abnormal. However, research questions that specifically investigate the subjective female voice and perspective in considerations of so-called hypersexuality or sex addiction remain understudied. This research project proposes to examine the cultural pathways and systemic foundations which have historically in the West problematized female sexuality by investigating womenÂÂ's own perceptions of sexual addiction and their experiences in seeking (or not) addiction treatment. In addition, this research project proposes to investigate the perceptions of therapists (psychologists and psychiatrists) who treat hypersexual female patients, in order to examine their beliefs about the cultural and biological genesis of the disorder, and its appearance in female patients. Theoretically, this project aims to move away from the concept of individualized bodies suffering singularly from (dis)ease and abnormality, and investigate the ways in which Western cultural notions of normal female sexuality shape womenÂÂ's self-perceptions and notions about sexual deviance.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2010
- Identifier
- CFE0003138, ucf:48641
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003138
- Title
- Catholic Healing Masses: Intersections of Health and Healing in Yucat(&)#225;n.
- Creator
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Draper, Suzanne, Reyes-Foster, Beatriz, Mishtal, Joanna, Matejowsky, Ty, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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The conception of illness and healing in contemporary Mexican Catholic discourse highlights both particular and ubiquitous instances of a health experience perceived locally and widespread. Catholic healing masses are utilized as supplemental methods of individual health restoration coupled with Western medicinal techniques in Catholic dramas. Aside from the spiritual and religious significance of this practice, the use of healing masses as an additional means to achieving an optimal health...
Show moreThe conception of illness and healing in contemporary Mexican Catholic discourse highlights both particular and ubiquitous instances of a health experience perceived locally and widespread. Catholic healing masses are utilized as supplemental methods of individual health restoration coupled with Western medicinal techniques in Catholic dramas. Aside from the spiritual and religious significance of this practice, the use of healing masses as an additional means to achieving an optimal health status implies that something is lacking in current biomedical models. The purpose of my research is to explore the humanistic terms under which healing masses operate and translate these terms into a biomedical conversation towards enhanced secular medical care
Show less - Date Issued
- 2014
- Identifier
- CFE0005484, ucf:50332
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005484
- Title
- THE PERFORMANCE OF HEALTH? MOTIVATIONS BEHIND UNIVERSITY STUDENTS' DECISIONS TO WEAR ATHLETIC ATTIRE.
- Creator
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Payne, Shannon, Mishtal, Joanna, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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"Athleisure" is a relatively new term to the American lexicon, a portmanteau used to describe athletic clothing used for leisure purposes. Recent studies show a disconnect between consumers' desire to purchase athletic attire and the percentage of Americans considered "active to a healthy level and beyond." While athletic wear sales skyrocket, reported levels of inactivity have slowly increased in recent years. These trends indicate a phenomenon in which consumers prioritize ownership of...
Show more"Athleisure" is a relatively new term to the American lexicon, a portmanteau used to describe athletic clothing used for leisure purposes. Recent studies show a disconnect between consumers' desire to purchase athletic attire and the percentage of Americans considered "active to a healthy level and beyond." While athletic wear sales skyrocket, reported levels of inactivity have slowly increased in recent years. These trends indicate a phenomenon in which consumers prioritize ownership of athletic wear over athletics. In this research, I set out to answer the following research questions: How do university students interpret and understand the purchase and wearing of athletic clothes, in the absence of athletic activity; and is a student's decision to wear athletic clothing for nonathletic activity associated with a symbolic performance of a healthy lifestyle? In order to answer these questions, I focused on a set of UCF students between 18 and 24 years of age who wore athletic attire as leisure attire and exercised less than three times a week. My data collection included participant observation, literature review, semi-structured interviews, and a focus group. I conducted semi-structured interviews with 18 UCF students who fit my inclusion criteria. Based on recurring narratives, I invited interview participants back to hold a focus group in which three students ultimately participated. In analyzing these data, I found that college students consider athletic attire suitable for a variety of casual situations, and therefore did not conflate wearing athletic attire with participating in athletic activity or the appearance of a healthy lifestyle. Further, research participants used age- and gender-based stereotypes when making judgments about their peers' habits regarding athletic activity and wearing athletic attire. These findings are important because they demonstrate how the boundary between public and private attire can change over time, how discourses of consumption outweigh discourses of personal responsibility, and how dress is a gendered experience.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2015
- Identifier
- CFH0004855, ucf:45469
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004855
- Title
- PUBS, PUNTERS, AND PINTS: ANTHROPOLOGICAL REFLECTIONS ON PUB LIFE IN IRELAND.
- Creator
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Cucchiara, Jason, Matejowsky, Ty, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Ireland is a country with a rich and unique cultural heritage. It is difficult to imagine that certain facets of Irish culture (e.g. Saint Patrick's Day, the Blarney Stone, or the Ring of Kerry) can ever be taken for granted since they are so widely recognized internationally. One common feature of Irish life that possibly warrants more scholarly attention is the public house or pub. Much has been written about pubs as quaint institutions in popular literature and fiction. Curiously, they...
Show moreIreland is a country with a rich and unique cultural heritage. It is difficult to imagine that certain facets of Irish culture (e.g. Saint Patrick's Day, the Blarney Stone, or the Ring of Kerry) can ever be taken for granted since they are so widely recognized internationally. One common feature of Irish life that possibly warrants more scholarly attention is the public house or pub. Much has been written about pubs as quaint institutions in popular literature and fiction. Curiously, they remain largely overlooked as vital aspects of Irish culture by anthropologists and others in the social sciences. In many ways, socio-cultural research on pub life in Ireland is woefully under examined. In an effort to better evaluate the significance of traditional pub life to Irish culture, my thesis seeks to integrate and critically assess the existing socio-cultural literature on Irish pub life. Such work will not only help highlight both the commonalities and discrepancies within this area of study, it will more significantly identify those areas of Irish pub life that can benefit from further academic investigation. Two recent trips to Ireland in September 2004 and May 2006, allowed me to observe important aspects of pub life first hand. It became apparent from these encounters that, like the history of Ireland itself, local pubs have a rich historical foundation. Many of the pubs that I visited have been in existence or operational since the Middle Ages. Based on this longevity, one can reasonably argue that pubs in Ireland function largely as locales of social significance and cultural reproduction, not just centers of recreational drinking. Using my travel experience as a starting point for the critical analysis phase of this thesis project, I have developed three general research questions that I will explore to varying degrees in the context of this work. These are: (1) what are the origins of pubs in Ireland?; (2) what explicit and implicit functions do pubs serve in Irish communities?; and (3) what possible developments are likely to affect Irish pubs in the near and distant future?
Show less - Date Issued
- 2009
- Identifier
- CFE0002578, ucf:48255
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002578
