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The Effects Of Diagnostic Aiding On Situation Awareness Under Robot Unreliability, David Schuster Jan 2013

The Effects Of Diagnostic Aiding On Situation Awareness Under Robot Unreliability, David Schuster

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In highly autonomous robotic systems, human operators are able to attend to their own, separate tasks, but robots still need occasional human intervention. In this scenario, it may be difficult for human operators to determine the status of the system and environment when called upon to aid the robot. The resulting lack of situation awareness (SA) is a problem common to other automated systems, and it can lead to poor performance and compromised safety. Existing research on this problem suggested that reliable automation of information processing, called diagnostic aiding, leads to better operator SA. The effects of unreliable diagnostic aiding, …

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Biogeography And Systematics Of The Nerodia Clarkii/Nerodia Fasciata Clade In Florida, Gregory Territo Jan 2013

Biogeography And Systematics Of The Nerodia Clarkii/Nerodia Fasciata Clade In Florida, Gregory Territo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Biogeography provides a window into the evolutionary history of populations, and helps explain the diversity and distribution of life through time. Viewed from a systematic perspective, biogeographic studies generate convincing arguments to explain the relationships among organisms and categorize them into useful taxonomies. When taxonomies do not reflect evolutionary histories, inaccurate representations of biodiversity confound future studies and conservation efforts. Two thamnophiine snakes, Nerodia clarkii and Nerodia fasciata, harbor unique morphological and ecological adaptations that obscured natural groupings, leading to controversial taxonomic delimitations. Additionally, population declines documented in N. clarkii compressicauda and N. clarkii taeniata led managers to list N. …

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Estimated Diets, Diet Overlap, And Winter Habitat Associations Of Four Grassland Sparrows In Florida Dry Prairie, Marianne Korosy Jan 2013

Estimated Diets, Diet Overlap, And Winter Habitat Associations Of Four Grassland Sparrows In Florida Dry Prairie, Marianne Korosy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

North American grassland birds show long-term population declines that generally exceed the declines of other bird groups. Efforts to conserve grassland birds require knowledge of diet and habitat requirements during both the breeding and nonbreeding periods of annual life cycles. This dissertation investigated sparrow habitat associations within two defined plant communities of the dry prairie ecosystem, the dry-mesic and wet-mesic prairie, for four prescribed fire treatments over two consecutive winters. Grasshopper and Henslow’s sparrows showed higher relative abundance in wet-mesic prairie and Bachman’s Sparrows were more abundant in dry-mesic prairie across all fire treatments. Abundances of Grasshopper and Bachman’s sparrows …

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The Role Of Mitochondrial Omi/Htra2 Protease In Protein Quality Control And Mitophagy, Camilla Ambivero Jan 2013

The Role Of Mitochondrial Omi/Htra2 Protease In Protein Quality Control And Mitophagy, Camilla Ambivero

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Omi/HtrA2 is a mitochondrial serine protease with a dual and opposite function depending on its subcellular localization. Most of the previous studies focused on Omi/HtrA2’s pro-apoptotic function when the protein is released to the cytoplasm. It is becoming apparent that the main function of Omi/HtrA2 is within the mitochondria, where it has a pro-survival role. However, its mechanism is still poorly understood. To this end, we used the yeast two-hybrid system to dissect the Omi/HtrA2 pathway by identifying novel interactors and substrates. Our studies revealed a novel function of Omi/HtrA2 in the regulation of a deubiquitinating (DUB) complex. In addition …

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Characterization Of Motility Alterations Caused By The Impairment Of Dynein/Dynactin Motor Protein Complex, Swaran Nandini Jan 2013

Characterization Of Motility Alterations Caused By The Impairment Of Dynein/Dynactin Motor Protein Complex, Swaran Nandini

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Transport of intracellular cargo is an important and dynamic process required for cell maintenance and survival. Dynein is the motor protein that carries organelles and vesicles from the cell periphery to the cell center along the microtubule network. Dynactin is a protein that activates dynein for this transport process. Together, dynein and dynactin forms a motor protein complex that is essential for transport processes in all the vertebrate cells. Using fluorescent microscope based live cell imaging techniques and kymograph analyses, I studied dynein/dynactin disruptions on the intracellular transport in two different cell systems. In one set of experiments, effects of …

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Remediation Of Polychlorinated Biphenyl (Pcb) Contaminated Building Materials Using Non-Metal And Activated Metal Treatment Systems, Tamra Legron-Rodriguez Jan 2013

Remediation Of Polychlorinated Biphenyl (Pcb) Contaminated Building Materials Using Non-Metal And Activated Metal Treatment Systems, Tamra Legron-Rodriguez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

PCBs are recalcitrant compounds of no known natural origin that persist in the environment despite their ban by the United States Environmental Protection Agency in 1979 due to negative health effects. Transport of PCBs from elastic sealants into concrete, brick, and granite structures has resulted in the need for a technology capable of removing these PCBs from the materials. This research investigated the use of a nonmetal treatment system (NMTS) and an activated metal treatment system (AMTS) for the remediation and degradation of PCBs from concrete, brick, and granite affixed with PCB-laden caulking. The adsorption of PCBs onto the components …

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Terrorism: The Effect Of Positive Social Sanctions, Curtis Hibbert Jan 2013

Terrorism: The Effect Of Positive Social Sanctions, Curtis Hibbert

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research shows that relative deprivation, mental illness, culture, ideology, and various forms of social learning are often identified as factors that can lead an individual to terrorism. However, understanding the value of influences in the form of positive social sanctions through social contact has not been fully explored throughout terrorist studies. In regards to influencing behavior, positive social sanctions elicit a desired behavior which is reinforced through praise or rewards. By utilizing a case study approach, this thesis looks to determine the significance of positive social sanctions through social contact on select individuals who have committed an act of terror …

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Dangerous Instincts, Kirsten Holt Jan 2013

Dangerous Instincts, Kirsten Holt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Dangerous Instincts is a collection of poems unified thematically by recurring and interstitial questions of the wilderness, the natural sciences - particularly astrophysics - the occult, and the mythic universe. These poems explore the mystical implications of the natural world and its meaning in the aesthetic consciousness, particularly in a highly secular century. Implied is the poet’s selfdiscovery and search for the divine. The collection emerges, not simply as interpretation, but a means of coming to terms with the fear of and compulsion to question the universe, and through those questions find illumination in the ordinariness of lived life and …

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Zora, Genevieve Tyrrell Jan 2013

Zora, Genevieve Tyrrell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This mixed-media memoir uses a variety of forms from short epigrammatic essays to straightforward stories and graphic narratives to explore the author’s coming-of-age experiences augmented by chronic illness. Trying to succeed in the film industry, romance, and family situations, the young female narrator navigates the often unexpected or disappointing consequences of having an autonomic nervous system disorder. Relationships between conflicting identities emerge—between healthy versus sick self, projected/envisioned versus actual self, and tough versus vulnerable self—as the narrator journeys toward a more complete and accepting self-understanding.

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Is Experiential Avoidance A Factor In Maternal Overprotection?, Melissa Nieves Jan 2013

Is Experiential Avoidance A Factor In Maternal Overprotection?, Melissa Nieves

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The current study examined experiential avoidance (EA) as an explanation for parental overprotectiveness, a behavior often found among parents of anxious children. EA parenting theory posits that parents engage in overprotective behaviors in order to reduce their own anxiety. In order to test the theory, mothers’ electrodermal activity (EDA) and blindly-coded overprotective behaviors were examined when a child with SAD was engaged in a reading performance task. In line with EA theory, it was hypothesized that EDA levels would increase before an overprotective behavior (OB) occurred and decrease afterwards as a result of decrease in anxiety. The sample consisted of …

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Delineating Key Genetic Components On Linear Plasmid 36 That Contribute To Its Essential Role In Borrelia Burgdorferi Mammalian Infectivity., Tisha Choudhury Jan 2013

Delineating Key Genetic Components On Linear Plasmid 36 That Contribute To Its Essential Role In Borrelia Burgdorferi Mammalian Infectivity., Tisha Choudhury

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi is the etiologic agent of Lyme disease. This pathogen has a complex enzootic life cycle that involves passage between the tick vector (Ixodes scapularis) and various vertebrate hosts with humans being inadvertent hosts. There is a pressing need to study the genetic aspects of the B. burgdorferi infectious cycle and particularly spirochete genes involved in mammalian infectivity so as to develop novel therapeutic and diagnostic strategies to combat Lyme disease. The B. burgdorferi genome is fragmented and comprised of a single 900 kb linear chromosome and multiple linear and circular plasmids. It has been observed that …

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Toward The Red Shore, Gary Bomhoff Jan 2013

Toward The Red Shore, Gary Bomhoff

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A fictional novel utilizing third person limited narration from the perspective of the primary character, Ilya Kollide, who narrates the story as though it were happening in his head as it occurred, with frequent embellishments. He has come to live near an old mansion on the Trans-Siberian Railroad, named Neimasaurus, to find an antiquated, dusty world of faded aristocracy. Temporarily orphaned at the age sixteen by the recent death of his parents, he has traveled four thousand miles to live with his last living relative, an uncle named Demetri, whom he has never met. The year is 1990, only this …

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Immuno-Pcr Detection Of Lyme Borreliosis, Micah Halpern Jan 2013

Immuno-Pcr Detection Of Lyme Borreliosis, Micah Halpern

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Lyme borreliosis, more commonly referred to as Lyme disease, is the fastest growing zoonotic disease in North America with approximately 30,000 confirmed cases and 300,000 estimated infections per year. In nature, the causative agent of Lyme disease, the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, cycles between Ixodes sp. ticks and small mammals. Humans become infected with Lyme disease after being bitten by an infected tick. The primary indicator of a Borrelia burgdorferi infection is a bull’s eye rash typically followed by flu-like symptoms with treatment consisting of a 2-4 week course of antibiotics. If not treated, later stages of the disease can result …

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Lavinia's Voice: Verbal And Nonverbal Expression In Shakespearean Performance, Kelly Kilgore Jan 2013

Lavinia's Voice: Verbal And Nonverbal Expression In Shakespearean Performance, Kelly Kilgore

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For my MFA internship requirement, I currently serve as an acting intern at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater in Partnership with UCF. I was cast as Lavinia in OST’s spring production of Titus Andronicus, and I will use this as my thesis role. It will be the very last show of my MFA career, and it will provide an exceptional opportunity for me to utilize all the skills learned during my three years of MFA classes and training. Jim Helsinger, Artistic Director at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater and Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Central Florida, will direct the production. …

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Interactionz: Engaging Lgbtq+ Youth Using Theatre For Social Change, Jonathan Jackson Jan 2013

Interactionz: Engaging Lgbtq+ Youth Using Theatre For Social Change, Jonathan Jackson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Theatre for social change is a term used to describe a wide range of theatre-based techniques and methods. Through implementation of performance techniques, participants are encouraged to creatively explore and communicate various ideas with the specific intention of eliciting a societal or political shift within a given community. Through this thesis, I will explore the impact of applying theatre for social change in a youth-centered environment. I will discuss my journey as creator, facilitator, and project director of interACTionZ, a queer youth theatre program in Orlando, FL formed through a partnership between Theatre UCF at the University of Central Florida …

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Belief And Christmas: Performing Belief And The Theory And Practice Of Christmas Performance, Brenna Nicely Jan 2013

Belief And Christmas: Performing Belief And The Theory And Practice Of Christmas Performance, Brenna Nicely

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the United States, Christmastime has become a time of tension between the holy ideals of family togetherness, childhood innocence, and goodwill towards men and commercial idolatry. Christ and Santa Claus are pitted against each other in the war on Christmas between religion and secularism instead of feasting together on ham and figgy pudding in the traditional fashion. While many would agree that the everyday realities of the Christmas season do not often live up to the ideals imposed upon the holiday, few are able to tell why this is so or even trace the roots of their discontent. In …

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This Stuff Is Finished: Amiri Baraka's Renunciation Of The Ghosts Of White Women And Homosexuals Past, Susan Stone-Lawrence Jan 2013

This Stuff Is Finished: Amiri Baraka's Renunciation Of The Ghosts Of White Women And Homosexuals Past, Susan Stone-Lawrence

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines auto/biographical, theoretical, critical, literary, and dramatic works by and about LeRoi Jones/Amiri Baraka, primarily focusing on the eruption of “Hate Whitey” sentiment and rhetoric that characterized a decadelong cultural nationalist phase of the henceforth selfdeclaredly Black poet-playwright’s career. As a black militant, LeRoi Jones left his white wife and other white associates in Greenwich Village, moved to Harlem, changed his name to Amiri Baraka, converted to Islam, and started the Black Arts Repertory Theatre/School. This thesis contends that Baraka’s Black Arts Movement era plays emphasize negation of the value of white women and gay men, who had …

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The Recipe Of A Digital Story: An Analysis Of The Residency "The Recipe Of Me", Amanda Hill Jan 2013

The Recipe Of A Digital Story: An Analysis Of The Residency "The Recipe Of Me", Amanda Hill

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This paper explores the processes and outcomes of “The Recipe of Me,” a digital storytelling residency whose goals were to foster autonomy and community among disadvantaged youth aged twelve to fifteen living in the Orlando Union Rescue Mission. Using on-site experience and data, I explore the possibilities and advantages digital storytelling offered the students living in this population and consider the challenges of creating digital stories specific to this site. This case study provides a portrait of the residency which outlines the phases, techniques, tools and approaches used to create the digital stories and empower youth to create using multiple …

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All Of Chinese Literature Condensed: A Sourcebook From The Playwright, Director, And Biggest Fan, Whitney Emerson Jan 2013

All Of Chinese Literature Condensed: A Sourcebook From The Playwright, Director, And Biggest Fan, Whitney Emerson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Aristotle stated in his Poetics that theatre’s dual purpose was to educate and entertain. Centuries later the Roman Horace and Indian Bharata echoed his same sentiments. I intend to realize all three theorist’s ideas on the theatre by creating an original educational and entertaining work and bringing it to performance. The audience will retain information without being aware of learning if it is presented in a pleasurable way. The most important geopolitical relationship of this century will be between China and America. In order to educate the American public about the culture of The Middle Kingdom, I propose to write …

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Can One Hear...? An Exploration Into Inverse Eigenvalue Problems Related To Musical Instruments, Christine Adams Jan 2013

Can One Hear...? An Exploration Into Inverse Eigenvalue Problems Related To Musical Instruments, Christine Adams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The central theme of this thesis deals with problems related to the question, “Can one hear the shape of a drum?” first posed formally by Mark Kac in 1966. More precisely, can one determine the shape of a membrane with fixed boundary from the spectrum of the associated differential operator? For this paper, Kac received both the Lester Ford Award and the Chauvant Prize of the Mathematical Association of America. This problem has received a great deal of attention in the past forty years and has led to similar questions in completely different contexts such as “Can one hear the …

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Functionalized Nanoceria Composition For Ophthalmic Treatment Div, Sudipta Seal, Manas Haldar, Sanku Mallik, Swanand Patil Dec 2012

Functionalized Nanoceria Composition For Ophthalmic Treatment Div, Sudipta Seal, Manas Haldar, Sanku Mallik, Swanand Patil

UCF Patents

The invention provides a composition comprising a plurality of nanoceria particles, a sufficient amount of at least one inhibitor of human carbonic anhydrase II associated with said plurality of nanoceria particles, and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier containing said plurality of nanoceria particles with associated inhibitor. One preferred inhibitor of human carbonic anhydrase II comprises 4-carboxybenzene sulfonamide. The disclosed composition is useful in treatment of glaucoma.

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Synthesis Of Polymer Coated Ceria Nanoparticles For Biomedical Applications, J. Manuel Perez Figueroa, Atul Asati, Sudip Nath Dec 2012

Synthesis Of Polymer Coated Ceria Nanoparticles For Biomedical Applications, J. Manuel Perez Figueroa, Atul Asati, Sudip Nath

UCF Patents

Procedures and methods for synthesizing biodegradable polymer coated nanoceria result in stable nanoparticle preparations in aqueous systems and physiological relevant colloidal solutions, such as phosphate buffer saline. The coated nanoceria preparations increase the nanoparticle concentration in aqueous or colloidal solutions as most needed for antioxidant, free-radical scavenger, and autocatalytic biomedical applications,including, biological, pharmacological and potential clinical use. To meet this need, a facile synthetic procedure for preparation of a biodegradable polymer-coated nanoceria is disclosed; the preferred biodegradable polymer is dextran. The synthesis method occurs under ambient conditions in an aqueous phase without the use of surfactants and results in a …

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Pepsin And Salivary Amylase Biomarkers Of Microaspiration In Oral And Tracheal Secretions Of Intubated Patients, Aurea Middleton Dec 2012

Pepsin And Salivary Amylase Biomarkers Of Microaspiration In Oral And Tracheal Secretions Of Intubated Patients, Aurea Middleton

HIM 1990-2015

Introduction: The presence of an endotracheal tube (ETT) increases the risk for microaspiration of secretions around the ETT. Biomarkers of pepsin and salivary amylase may be used to identify microaspiration in intubated patients because of their naturally occurring presence in the stomach or oral cavity and non-occurrence in the respiratory tract. Microaspiration may be difficult to detect until pulmonary complications, such as lung injury or infection, occur. This study assessed the presence of pepsin and salivary amylase in oral and tracheal secretions of ventilated adults. Method(s): This is a secondary analysis of data collected from 11 critically ill, adult patients …

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Pepsin And Amylase In Oral And Tracheal Secretions Of Patients With Standard Versus Continuous Subglottic Suctioning Endotracheal Tubes, Katherine Allen Dec 2012

Pepsin And Amylase In Oral And Tracheal Secretions Of Patients With Standard Versus Continuous Subglottic Suctioning Endotracheal Tubes, Katherine Allen

HIM 1990-2015

The aspiration of oral and gastric substances is a well-known risk for ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) in the intubated, mechanically ventilated (MV), patient of the intensive care unit (ICU) population. The gastric biomarker pepsin and the oral biomarker salivary amylase have been identified as evidence of aspiration prior to the manifestation of acute pulmonary illness. In an effort to decrease the risk for aspiration, several evidence based nursing practices are in place. Actions include 30 degree head of the bed positioning, oral care, suctioning, and circuit change interval protocols, as well as the administration of medication with the objective of …

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Brown Study An Original Musical Recording, Alan Clark Dec 2012

Brown Study An Original Musical Recording, Alan Clark

HIM 1990-2015

For a year and a spring semester, I have been in the works of a school music project. I set out to make a record of ten self-penned songs. Along the length of the project, I would discover musicians and recording artists. I notated my songs on a staff and recorded demos to assist players of drums, electric bass, French horn, and violin. I play guitar, percussion, synthesized instruments, and do all of the singing on Brown Study, the record's title. The technology used to create the songs include a Tascam 2488 (home digital recording device), computers, printers, cell phones …

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The Influence Of Beliefs On People's Perception Of Illness In The Spanish Golden Age, Nicole Cruz Dec 2012

The Influence Of Beliefs On People's Perception Of Illness In The Spanish Golden Age, Nicole Cruz

HIM 1990-2015

Medicine is a field of science that is always changing and promoting new ideas and innovations. Throughout history, medicine has been an important factor in the lives of people around the world since the beginning of civilizations. This study focused on the literature of medicine as it relates to the Spanish Golden Age period. By looking at the history and critical studies in medicine during sixteenth and seventeenth century Spain as well as during the pre-colonial period in America, this thesis overviews the effects and influences in regards to health and illness in Spain and the Americas during the Spanish …

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Influencing Opinions About Bats The Impact Of Levels Of Interaction During Educational Presentations, Samantha Hynes Dec 2012

Influencing Opinions About Bats The Impact Of Levels Of Interaction During Educational Presentations, Samantha Hynes

HIM 1990-2015

This experiment was run to see whether the educational presentations done at zoos and other educational facilities are effectively changing patrons' negative misconceptions about the animals they were seeing. Participants were invited to attend one of three educational presentations, where they were exposed to either a low, intermediate or high level of interaction involving a bat. I hypothesized that regardless of the level of interaction, participants would learn the information, but that a higher level of interaction would cause the biggest perceptual change in terms of how participants felt about the bat and the highest degree of learning. Across the …

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Art As A Questioning Process, Elizabeth Perez Dec 2012

Art As A Questioning Process, Elizabeth Perez

HIM 1990-2015

The topic of this thesis is, broadly, the crisis of postmodernity and the solution that French rhetorician, Michel Meyer, presents in his theory “problematology.” Meyer looks to relocate the focus of philosophical attention on the question as opposed to the answer. Meyer calls preoccupation with answers “propositionalism.” Propositionalism can be likened to the looming scientism that threatens philosophy in general. Meyer shows, through an examination of questioning, how philosophy can be rescued from obsolescence without being detracted to scientism. Although Meyer’s philosophy is promising, it could not be considered thorough if it did not address art. Using Gilles Deleuze and …

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My Peace I Give Unto You Christianity's Critique Of Roman And American Exceptionalism, Ryan Tindall Dec 2012

My Peace I Give Unto You Christianity's Critique Of Roman And American Exceptionalism, Ryan Tindall

HIM 1990-2015

Throughout the history of the United States, its inhabitants have looked upon their nation as a special place. In some cases, this has exceeded the natural and simple love of home and country and taken a more extreme form. Important to this bent is the tendency to see the nation, its beliefs, and its actions around the world as divinely sanctioned and inspired in some regard. This is a generally necessary component to the idea of American Exceptionalism, which views the United States as a nation with a divinely imposed mission to spread civilization, freedom, and democracy to the ends …

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Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy As An Effective Therapy In Comparison To Or In Conjunction With Traditional Therapies, Kristen Wilson Dec 2012

Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy As An Effective Therapy In Comparison To Or In Conjunction With Traditional Therapies, Kristen Wilson

HIM 1990-2015

Mental disorders are a prevalent health issue that has an extensive amount of variability in the quantity of disorders, affected populations, and treatment. There are a multitude of approaches or therapeutic methods used by the mental health community. Although each therapy is valuable in unique ways, each therapy may not be suitable to treat every disorder or client. Traditional approaches, such as talk therapy, are effective for certain individuals, whereas some clients may not respond well to any of the traditional talk therapies. When traditional therapies are not working, a referral can be made for a therapy that might suit …

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