Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Adding Linked Open Data To A Digital Humanities Collection In Alma, Sai Deng, Lee Dotson

Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Working with Digital Initiatives, digital humanities and history faculty members, the Metadata Librarian at the University of Central Florida Libraries has added Linked Open Data (LOD) to Ex Libris’ Alma for the PRINT Migration Network: Pemberton Correspondence Collection. Wikidata entries on people and places in this collection are created and their Uris are linked to the cataloging records. Meanwhile, Library of Congress (LC) linked open data vocabularies, such as LC Subject Headings, LC Name entities, FAST headings and genre headings are also added to the records. GeoNames are incorporated into the University Libraries’ Institutional Repository records and are under consideration …

Linked Data, Wikidata And Their Implementations, Sai Deng

Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

An introductory session on linked data, wikidata and related implementations delivered to participating students for a National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) Major Collaborative Archives Initiative Grant led by Dr. Rosalind J. Beiler in History and Dr. Amy Giroux in Center for Humanities and Digital Research at the University of Central Florida.

Decision-Making And Christianity: Black Queer Women's Mental Health, Deborah Coffy

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This study investigated how Christianity affects Black queer women's decision-making regarding seeking mental health services. Those who felt they met the inclusion criteria completed a Basic Demographic Survey. After vetting these individuals, eleven female participants—who are both Black and queer—were asked to participate in an individual semi-structured qualitative interview. The interview focused on one's journey with mental health, societal and relationship influences, Black and LGBTQ+ identity, influences from conservative, traditional, or mainstream Christianity, and sense of self. Although Christianity may not have directly impacted most of the women in this study to seek mental health services, Christianity did have an …

Treatment Of The Differently Abled: Representations Of Disability From Victorian Periodicals To Contemporary Graphic Narratives, Rachelle Echevarria

Honors Undergraduate Theses

In recent years, a number of efforts have been made to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in academic institutions, the workplace, and to examine and analyze representations of marginalized populations in a variety of literary and cultural contexts. These efforts usually acknowledge past mistakes, emphasizing the idea that history shall not and should not repeat itself. While analyzing the representations of disability is important in its own right, it's also important to understand why these perceptions exist. This thesis suggests that when the representations of disabilities from different mediums and from different time periods are examined in relationship, readers may …

The Beauty Of Hip-Hop Culture: Linguistic Connections Through Music, Poetry, And Literature, Aminah Patel

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This thesis enters the developing conversation in the linguistic domain about the culture and struggles of the Black community. It explores the collectivist perspective of the Black community in the 20^th and 21^st century through the umbrella of Linguistics and its subfields. Collectively, the literary and musical works in this study demonstrates the frustrations of the Black community—including its correlation to antebellum slavery—the lamentations of oppression, which showcases in a collection of poems and their syntactical aspects, and the Black pride emulating from the societies. Despite the clear correlation between Hip-Hop culture and literary works from the early …

Healthcare Access And Experiences Among Transgender University Students, Micah Reisner

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Background

As transgender identification rises in younger generations, it is imperative that colleges and universities account for the health and wellbeing of this growing subset of the student body. Previous research indicates that transgender populations experience unique barriers to accessing healthcare, including socioeconomic barriers and a lack of healthcare providers experienced in transgender medicine. These barriers contribute to low rates of healthcare utilization and significant health disparities in transgender populations.

Methods

A community health assessment of transgender and gender-nonconforming (TGNC) students at the University of Central Florida was conducted in order to assess: (1) students' access to and experiences with …

An Exploration On The Spanish Caribbean Dialectical Community: ¿Unidos O Separados?, Bryan J. Jimenez

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Latin America holds a diverse array of people and language. Even regions and countries that speak the same language tend to speak it differently. This leads to interesting variations in language and speech. Most people of Latin American origin are able to note that Mexican Spanish and Puerto Rican Spanish are different in terms of intonation, speech pattern, vocabulary, and more. Most popular theories that section Latin America off by dialects group the entirety of the Spanish-speaking Caribbean into a single dialectical community. Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic each hold unique histories and are home to a fascinating …

Sex With Robots And Human-Machine Sexualities: Encounters Between Human-Machine Communication And Sexuality Studies, Marco Dehnert

Human-Machine Communication

Sex robots are a controversial topic. Understood as artificial-intelligence enhanced humanoid robots designed for use in partnered and solo sex, sex robots offer ample opportunities for theorizing from a Human-Machine Communication (HMC) perspective. This comparative literature review conjoins the seemingly disconnected literatures of HMC and sexuality studies (SeS) to explore questions surrounding intimacy, love, desire, sex, and sexuality among humans and machines. In particular, I argue for understanding human-machine sexualities as communicative sexuotechnical-assemblages, extending previous efforts in both HMC and SeS for more-than-human, ecological, and more fluid approaches to humans and machines, as well as to sex and sexuality. This …

The Symptom Of Ethics: Rethinking Ethics In The Face Of The Machine, David J. Gunkel

Human-Machine Communication

This essay argues that it is the machine that constitutes the symptom of ethics— “symptom” understood as that excluded “part that has no part” in the system of moral consideration. Ethics, which has been historically organized around a human or at least biological subject, needs the machine to define the proper limits of the moral community even if it simultaneously excludes such mechanisms from any serious claim on moral consideration. The argument will proceed in five steps or movements. The first part will define and characterize “the symptom” as it has been operationalized in the work of Slovenian philosopher Slavoj …

Risk And Protective Factors For Negative Psychological Outcomes In Lgbtq+ Individuals, Emalee Kerr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

Previous research suggests that suicide is more prevalent among those in the LGBTQ+ community (Abelson et al., 2006), and they are also more likely to experience bullying and psychological symptoms while less likely to have adequate social support. Although many studies have examined risk factors for suicidality, the current study aimed to compare the impact of the risk factors among those in the LGBTQ+ community with those who are not. Further, this study examined the role of identity in conjunction with these other risk and protective factors. College students (N = 501) completed an anonymous online survey battery. Suicidality was …

Tomboys: The Role Of Protective Identity In The Gender Binary, Jalen C. Grant

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This study examined the biases of individuals regarding what is perceived as feminine and what is masculine, as well as the freedoms and limitations of being labeled a tomboy. This research examined the associations among several factors: perceptions of masculine and feminine traits, perceptions of lesbian and gay identity, self-identification, and the confluence of tomboy and lesbian identity. Students in high enrollment psychology courses at a large southeastern metropolitan university (N = 385) participated in an anonymous online survey. A series of hypotheses were generated but results were highly inconsistent. Possible reasons for these inconsistencies are explored with an eye …

Bridging A Need: Audience Participatory Theatre For Non-Profit Fundraising, Ralph Krumins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

One of the largest goals for any non-profit organization is to continually retain donors and increase fundraising on a yearly basis. Fundraisers and auctions have been reliable methods for financial stability, but as more nonprofit organizations look to a shrinking pool of donors, non-profits must change the way they ask for support. To stand out in a competitive market, theatre practitioners have the opportunity to create content that connects donors to non-profits through theatrical means. As a new performing arts hire for a non-profit, Seacrest Country Day School, our artistic team was approached by the school development team to find …

The Effect Of Transgender Salience On Judgement Of Gender Perception, Gabriella Markovich

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Two studies were performed to examine the effect of salient awareness of transgender individuals on the choices of individuals on dating apps. This study posited that transgender individuals may represent a threat to the sexual and romantic identities of others, and that being reminded of transgender individuals’ existence on dating apps would cause participants to take longer to choose who to connect with, connect with fewer individuals, and make lower judgements of the individuals’ gender and attractiveness. Participant reaction time, choice in potential partners (swipe choices), gender perception, and ratings of attractiveness were compared across a control and threat condition. …

Mental Health Attitudes And Knowledge Among Shia Muslims In America, Fatima Z. Hussain

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Mental health has received more attention and stigma associated with it has decreased over time in the United States. However, subpopulations have differing views on mental illness since cultural factors can shape perceptions of and influence access to mental health information. Previous studies have investigated such cultural factors among Sunni Muslims (the majority sect of Islam) and less so among Shia Muslims (the minority sect). To address this gap, two research questions were investigated in this project: (1) What are the mental health attitudes among Shia Muslim adults in the United States, and (2) How much mental health knowledge or …

The Pardon Paradigm: The Presidential Pardons Of Donald J. Trump, Hlynur Saemundsson

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The presidential pardon power is an oft-overlooked political institution that seems to be perceived as being innocuous and irrelevant to larger political concerns. This research examines the pardons issued by President Donald J. Trump in an effort to evaluate whether they align with constitutional expectations regarding the use of this unrestricted presidential power. Dr. Jeffrey Crouch, a leading scholar on the subject, has demonstrated that the pardon power was intended to be used as a disinterested act of grace or an act in the public interest. A close survey of President Trump’s use of this power shows that many of …

Transformations Of Hanbok In The Age Of Hallyu: Fashion, Cultural Hybridization, And The Construction Of Vernacular Korean Nationalism, Katharine V. Smith

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Hanbok is the traditional fashion of South Korea, and literally translates to “Korean clothing.” Once worn every day, today hanbok is reserved for special occasions and holidays; however new “modern” versions of the attire are becoming more and more popular for everyday wear. This new iteration of the traditional clothing created a new vernacular of Korean nationalism and “Koreanness” through the incorporation of modern fashion trends and traditional Korean aesthetics. Modern hanbok represents the unique relationship between nationalism, globalization, and fashion, and can be seen as an example of cultural hybridization. Looking at modern hanbok through the lens of Hallyu, …

The Interactive Impact Of Social Identities On Voter Turnout In The 2012 Presidential Election, Karla M. Mendez

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The first Black American president ran for re-election in the 2012 election, which saw record-breaking voter turnout. After this election, scholars sought to examine what social identities impacted voter turnout and, found that non-Hispanic Black voters played a critical role in shaping President Obama’s success. Although the effects of social identities on voter turnout are the focus of an extensive body of existing research, many scholars study the separate effects of characteristics, such as race/ethnicity, gender or party identification. Utilizing public opinion data from the 2016 General Survey Study (GSS), this paper seeks to examine the intersectional effects of race, …

Exploring Ch’Timi’S History, Structure, And Decline: A Field Study Chez Les Ch’Tis, Felix Balak

The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal

This research investigated the history of the Ch’timi language and some of the differences between it and Standard French, as well as its decline and what, if anything, is being done to stop it. Ch’timi is a part of the Picard language group, spoken primarily in the north of France, and parts of Belgium. It is an endangered language, and few people still speak it to this day. This field research aims to determine how speakers of the language see it, whether they think it should be preserved, and whether anything is being done to keep it active. To answer …

Eat Like A White Man: Meat-Eating, Masculinity, And Neo-Colonialism, Saphronia Carson

The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal

Gender Studies scholarship has argued that one significant way contemporary hegemonic masculinities are constructed and reinforced is through meat consumption. Conversely, plant-based diets such as veganism and vegetarianism are considered feminine. This paper builds on an emerging body of research that traces this gendering of meat and plant-based diets to British colonialism in India. Drawing on ecofeminist and postcolonial theory, it shows how British colonizers feminized Indian dietary cultures, specifically Hindu vegetarian diets, to reinforce their own sense of masculinity. Through critical analyses of marketing and media, it demonstrates how these colonial gendered food images continue to populate contemporary imaginations. …

Human-Machine Communication: Complete Volume. Volume 2

Human-Machine Communication

This is the complete volume of HMC Volume 2.

Social Robots As The Bride? Understanding The Construction Of Gender In A Japanese Social Robot Product, Jindong Liu

Human-Machine Communication

This study critically investigates the construction of gender on a Japanese hologram animestyle social robot Azuma Hikari. By applying a mixed method merging the visual semiotic method and heterogeneous engineering approach in software studies, the signs in Azuma Hikari’s anthropomorphized image and the interactivity enabled by the multimedia interface have been analyzed and discussed. The analysis revealed a stereotyped representation of a Japanese “ideal bride” who should be cute, sexy, comforting, good at housework, and subordinated to “Master”-like husband. Moreover, the device interface disciplines users to play the role of “wage earner” in the simulated marriage and reconstructs the gender …

Setting The Stage: Metadata & Kos Considerations, Sai Deng

Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

This talk addresses how to select metadata standards and prepare for a Knowledge Organization System (KOS) in planning a digital project. It compares several metadata standards mostly related to bibliographical information, talks about various KOS systems including term lists, subject headings, categorization schemas, classification schemas and taxonomies. It also gives a list of KOS examples and projects related to or designed for philosophy resources. Furthermore, it discusses the process and different methods in creating categories, tag libraries and taxonomies. It is prepared for students who work on a bibliographic database class project in the Texts and Technology program at the …

Pixelated Domes: Cinematic Code Changes Through A Frank Lloyd Wright Lens, William Allen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

Panoramic 360-degree documentary videos continue to saturate the visual landscape. As practitioners' experiment with a new genre, understanding meaning and making awaits the academic and marketplace landscape. The new media journey of 360-degree documentary storytelling is ripe for media archaeologist to explore. New media scholar Lev Manovich (2016) believes "we are witnessing the new emergence of a cultural metalanguage, something that will be at least as significant as the printed word and cinema before it" (p. 49) Considering the meta- development of this new media genre, my dissertation seeks to discuss the historical roots of the panoramic image, define 360-degree …

Sexual Orientation And The Disclosure Of Unwanted Sexual Experiences, Rebekah Kanefsky

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

Individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, questioning, and other non-heterosexual orientations (LGBQ+) are significantly more likely to experience a sexual assault. To date, research on barriers to sexual assault disclosure (i.e., telling someone about a sexual assault) has been conducted almost exclusively on heterosexual women. Participants ages 18 to 30 participated in a cross-sectional, online study that assessed unwanted sexual experiences, disclosure of those experiences, perceptions of the police and perceptions of belonging to the LGBQ+ community. Findings demonstrated that survivors who identified as LGBQ+ took longer to initially disclose their sexual assault and had greater negative perceptions of …

Queer Arab American Experiences: Navigating Cross Cultural Expectations Of Gender And Sexuality, Gabriela Mansour

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

The understanding of the experiences of queer Arab Americans and the ways in which they navigate cross cultural expectations of gender and sexuality is limited in the anthropology or social sciences scholarship. The available scholarship focuses primarily on queerness in juxtaposition to Islam, which is not relatable to all Arab Americans as they are a religiously diverse group. Through an intersectional approach, this research, conducted from April 2020 to May 2021, explores the lived experiences of queer Arab Americans from across the United States (U.S.) while seeking to identify potential commonalities that could encompass a more general queer Arab American …

"I Have My Coven Now": Transgender Experience In The Central Florida Pagan Community, Alison Whitmore

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

This thesis analyzes Transgender experience and dynamics in the Pagan community of Central Florida. Religion plays an important role as part of social structure for many people in the United States. It can also be a source of strife and conflict between culture groups and within cultures. In the US, predominant religious traditions stem from monotheistic Abrahamic faiths (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam); however, Wicca, a Neo-Pagan polytheistic religion, is practiced by a small but growing number of people. Based on nearly one year of ethnographic engagement with the Central Florida Wiccan community, this study presents an analysis of participants experiences …

Sign Language And Language Development: A Meta-Analysis, Yasmin Sanchez

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This study takes a look at baby signing and its effect on caregiver responsiveness, considering how vital caregiver responsiveness is when it comes to language development. A meta-analytic review that quantitatively combines data was conducted to estimate the effect size between baby signs and caregiver responsiveness. There were no restrictions on geography or culture in which studies were conducted. However, the time period of publication was limited from 2009 to 2020 in an attempt to examine the most recent research possible. The following search terms were used: baby signing, gestures, caregiver responsiveness, caregiver interactions, and caregiver. For a study to …

The Political Impact Of Evangelical Churches In Latin America: Case Studies Of Brazil And Venezuela, Isabella Castro

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This thesis analyzes the impact of the Evangelical movement on politics in Latin America, through case studies on of revolutionary leftist Hugo Chávez in Venezuela and far right Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil. Both the Chávez and Bolsonaro political machineries reached out to the Evangelical movement and aligned themselves with new social and political actors associated with this movement. Though these two leaders promised very different programs, they both successfully sought the support of leaders and members of the Evangelical movement. The contradictory context of these two cases in terms of political platforms, their shared association with the Evangelical church, generates …

The "Information Pandemic": Technical Communication And False Information On Social Media In The Age Of Covid-19, Mia M. Stephens

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The goal of this thesis is to explore the various forms of rhetoric utilized in digital communities pertaining to COVID-19. The body of this thesis synthesizes social media data with original human subjects research, supplemented by a review of the literature surrounding digital communication. The analysis of these freestanding communities highlights the differences in communication throughout these spaces, as well as discusses their differences in reaction to disordered information. Through rhetorical analysis of the language employed by COVID-19 denialist communities on Twitter and a review of the experiences of COVID-19 “long-haulers” in COVID-19 related online communities (such as Facebook and …

The Sound Of Identity: Audios And Hashtags As Nexuses Of Practice On Tiktok, Lindsey Wright

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This study investigates TikTok audios and hashtags through the lens of digital literacy studies, using Ron Scollon's nexus of practice as a theoretical framework. The researcher sought to investigate literacy practices on TikTok, such as how lurkers and posters interact with the app in ways that both define and are defined by their individual identities. Relative to other social media platforms, there is a dearth of research on TikTok. This study contributes to the gap while also building off the findings of Kaye et al., who investigated authorship and (mis)attribution on the app, and Sachs et al.'s claim that Goffman's …