Challenge-based programming as an effective means of increasing life- effectiveness has grown rapidly and been incorporated into many professions. As such it has become increasingly important for research as to its effects be conducted for the good of all. Thanks to the dedication of researchers such as Jim Sibthorp, James T. Neil and others there is an excellent base from which to continue to discover evidence as to the benefits of hands-on experiential programs in an outdoor adventure setting. This study focuses on 35 to 40 students from four countries participating in a two-month challenge based therapeutic recreation program (CTRP) which took place at a training camp for the Irish Peace Keeping Force located in rural Ireland. Students were surveyed at the start of the and again at the conclusion of the program. The goal of this study was to determine if participating in such a program would increase participant's overall life-effectiveness.

This study propagates a move away from the dominant practices of psychodrama with its emphasis on catharsis and insight as the main components of a therapeutic experience. It proposes a systemic orientation to psychodrama where protagonists may encounter the circularity of the systems in which they are embedded and through this process encounter new meaning. Case studies are presented which exemplify an evolutionary process of creating what the author refers to as "ecosystemic psychodrama". This ecosystemic psychodrama is based on second-order cybernetics and what is aimed for is that as a therapy it should present something of the balance between the aesthetic and pragmatic views of therapy that Keeney (1983a) describes as complementary. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

Equine Assisted Activities and Therapy (EAA/T) is a non-invasive treatment modality recommended by the medical and educational community for a subset of challenged children and adults. As its popularity increases, so too are the concerns among stakeholders and the medical and educational professions about its legitimacy as a treatment modality. The main concern being that EAA/T practitioners have not acquired the professional skills required and that the EAA/T treatment programmes are not evidence-based. The central question of this research focused on identifying Equine Assisted Activities and or Therapy (EAA/T) and creating an optimal learning curricula and more practical experience for future practitioners. In order to explore these issues an extensive multi-method research study was conducted to identify gaps in EAA/T curricula, which included a review of empirical data and different curriculum models. The Delphi Method (DM), a robust, qualitative, naturalistic, systematic and interactive research method was used to support the research. Part of the DM required an analysis of data, adaptation of issues and amendments to questions culminating in a collective consensus among EAA/T experts. The key research findings suggested that current training programmes use curricula with significant gaps resulting in poor professional knowledge formation, a lack of experiential learning, insufficient knowledge of equestrianism and an inability to use pedagogic paradigms. Other findings showed that curricula being used were not being built as an application of sound theoretical principles but rather, transmitted in a manner that does not motivate active and meaningful learning or promote the best practical experience. As a consequence, national organisations and academies dedicated to EAA/T training sidestep high standards and core values for the sake of membership and financial gain. This rigorous research study has highlighted gaps in current training practices and has made it possible to make recommendations for a future curriculum. Recommendations that suggest the future curriculum is built on sound theoretical principles developing foundation knowledge to operate EAA/T in all fields of practice. This could set new quality and performance benchmarks and provides EAA/T practitioners with adequate tools to connect best practices to people with real-life challenges.

Ph.D. (Chemistry) / The following study was conducted to explore the in vitro antimicrobial and synergistic properties of the two medicinal plants (Elephantorrhiza elephantina, Fabaceae and Pentanisia prunelloides, Rubiaceae), which are widely used in southern Africa. These two plant species are used to remedy various ailments including diarrhoea, dysentery, inflammation, fever, rheumatism, heartburn, tuberculosis, haemorrhoids, skin diseases, perforated peptic ulcers and sore joints. The cytotoxicity of the aqueous and methanol extracts and fractions of both species was studied using the brine shrimp lethality tests for the first time. The results demonstrated that the lethality (LC₅₀) for crude extracts for both plants ranged between 1.8 and 18 μg/mL which was relatively greater than the fractions of the extracts. This suggested that crude extracts were more potent than their respective fractions which further implied that the different fractions of phytochemicals in these plant species work jointly (In synergy) to exert their therapeutic efficacy. The antimicrobial activity of methanol and aqueous extracts of rhizomes was investigated by means of a checkerboard micro-dilution technique in a bid to validate possible synergistic interactions between the two plants...

An in vitro IgG secretion assay was developed to investigate the regulation of the humoral immune response in humans. Pokeweed mitogen (PWM), a plant lectin derived from Phytolacca americana stimulates human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMNC) to divide and resting B-lymphocytes to differentiate into immunoglobulin secreting cells (ISC). This differentiation requires that both monocytes and T-lymphocytes be present in the culture system. The amount of IgG secreted by these differentiated B-lymphocytes in response to PWM appears to be the net result of a balance between the functional activity of the regulatory T-helper and T-suppressor cells. Alterations, qualitative or quantitative in any of these leukocyte subsets could conceivably alter the amount of IgG secreted by the B-lymphocyte subpopulation. We have employed this assay to investigate the immune status in a group of chronic progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and to assess the immunoregulatory effects of interferon (Wellferon R, INF) administered in vivo to this selected group. Their mononuclear cells (MNC) were studied in this PWM induced IgG secretion assay before INF treatment and again after 7 days of daily sub-cutaneous injections (5 X 10⁶ u/day). Twenty patients received the interferon (INF) preparation and eighteen received normal saline. The study was carried out in a double blind manner and the code was broken only after individual results had been calculated. / Medicine, Faculty of / Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Department of / Graduate

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This master's thesis is based on a Minor Field Study (MFS) and conducted in Nicaragua during seven weeks in the spring of 2011. Nicaragua has since 2006 been given international attention due to the National Assembly's decision to criminalize the previously allowed therapeutic abortion. The procedure could be used by women whose pregnancies turned out to be life threatening is now considered illegal and can result in years of imprisonment, both for women and doctors.This study focus upon the perception and opinions regarding this law among women living in Nicaragua. Distinction was made between women living in rural and urban settings. Further, women employed within organizations were chosen as a final group of interest. The aim of the study has been to explore if these women's perception have resulted in different levels of frustration and further how this variation in frustration can be explained. The study is mainly based on interviews conducted with these three groups of women. Relative deprivation was used as an analytical framework in order to explain how women's frustration could vary.It can be concluded that there were large differences in women's awareness and knowledge of the law and rural women appeared to have a rather small perceived frustration. The deprivation increased among women in urban areas, but became most intense among women active within organizations. The study has shown that religiosity, awareness and information about the law and its consequences, organization activity and to some extent level of education have the possibilities of affecting the level of frustration. The present frustration towards the law which criminalize therapeutic abortion is however not sufficient to cause collective violence or a similar reaction.