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Il-fissud ta' s-sur Naz : kummiedja f'att wiehed
No full textKummiedja f'att wieħed ta' Patri B.M. La Leta maqluba mit-Taljan għal Malti minn Alfons Maria GaleaN/
Cross-cultural adaptation of the EPICC spiritual care education standard into European Portuguese
Full text linkBackground: Spiritual care is a dynamic and multifaceted concept. The EPICC project, launched to improve nurses' competence in spiritual care through innovative education, supports this approach. The EPICC framework includes several tools and
resources with the Spiritual Care Education Standard as the core tool.
Aim: Translation, validation and cross-cultural adaptation of the EPICC Spiritual Care Education Standard into European
Portuguese language and culture.
Methods: Validation study using the Cross-Cultural Adaptation method. This method involves a six-step framework: translation, synthesis, back-translation, review by the expert panel (n=6), pre-testing, and concluding with the submission and approval
of all documents by the original instrument authors and the expert panel. EQUATOR checklist: GRRAS.
Ethical Issues and Approval: Doctoral research project (approved by the Ethics Committee on 19 July 2023).
Results: The data were collected between November 2023 and April 2024 and showed 100% agreement and a Content Validity
Index (CVI) of 1 for all items among experts. The pre-test, collected in May 2024, with 39 nursing students showed 90% agreement and minimal response variability among the items.
Conclusions: The study successfully adapted the EPICC Spiritual Care Education Standard to European Portuguese, highlighting the need for ongoing investment in spiritual care education in nursing curricula.
Implications: This study highlights the importance of students' spiritual care competencies in nursing education and practice,
emphasising their integration into curricula and the ongoing relevance of healthcare policy in supporting this dimension of
holistic care.peer-reviewe
Face to face with sex robots and the cultures surrounding them
No full textThe possibilities of interacting sexually with humanoid robots are pushing boundaries on how we think about sexual relations, intimacy, touch, connection, desire, sexual fantasy and erotic pleasure. A number of positive benefits have been highlighted in this regard such as fun, excitement, companionship, safe sex and even “feeling loved”. The prospects of engaging in sex with robots are also marked by oppositional forces, which claim that this form of relating is disturbing, because it causes degradation of sexual integrity, promotes a rape culture and encourages the objectification and exploitation of women, and should therefore be banned. This paper discusses the implications, which sexual activity with artificial humanoids, might have on society and culture. It employs posthuman perspectives, in order to draw out the interconnections between the commonalities and differences among different factions of thought about sex robots. This framework recognises that polarisations, biases and subjectivities in the understanding of cultural constructs regarding sex robots, are productive and entangled, even if they act in opposition with each other or in contradictory ways. Culturally opposite views are not separate from each other, since they constitute the very phenomenon of sex robots.peer-reviewe
Lessons learned from the Dengue outbreak in Gresik Regency, Indonesia during 2019
No full textA dengue outbreak occurred in Gresik Regency, Indonesia in 2019, the increasing number of cases and also the distribution of cases were used to categorise Gresik Regency as a region that was experiencing an outbreak. This study aims to investigate and identify what lessons can be learned from the outbreak to prevent the next outbreak. An analytical observational study was conducted from January to March 2020. Secondary data, including the number of cases, distribution of cases, larval fee index, and fogging historical activities, were collected from the Health Officer of Gresik Regency. Statistical analysis showed a significant difference in dengue patients’ age (p=0.000; p ≤ 0.05). On the other hand, the incidence rate between 2018 and 2019 shows no significant difference (p=0.406; p≤0.05), the distribution of female and male patients (p=0.239; p≤0.05), and the larval indices between 2018 and 2019 (p=0.296; p≤0.05). The fogging activity was conducted based on the occurrence of dengue cases, so the correlation with the number of dengue cases cannot be analysed. Analysis of the incidence rate between 2018 and 2019 shows an increase in the red zone from one district in 2018 to four districts in 2019. Lessons learned from the dengue outbreak in the Gresik regency were the importance of active surveillance, vector controlling in the red zone, regular evaluation of vector resistance status against insecticide, and collaboration between health officers and research institutions.peer-reviewe
Music and Motion : Interweaving Artistic Practice and Theory in Dance and Beyond
No full textFirst performed in Paris, 1911, the “burlesque” ballet Petrushka stands
today as a central work of the modernist canon and an unruly assemblage of artistic media that eludes any attempt to define it simply in terms of a single “author”
or as a work independent of its original production. In this chapter, I focus on
Petrushka’s reputation precisely as a concert work—its various instrumental reductions, transcriptions, performances, and their own reception history—as a lens
through which to consider the relationship between music and (choreographic)
motion. Through a brief analysis of the 1965 Swedish television film of Stravinsky’s
Three Movements from Petrushka performed by Alexis Weissenberg and directed
by Åke Falck, I consider Petrushka’s life, and that of the work’s eponymous puppet,
beyond the theater, and examine in what ways the extra-musical elements of the
original work were either erased or preserved in “purely musical” versions.peer-reviewe
Sixty years of diplomatic relations between the Holy See and Malta
Full text linkThe study of Sacred Scripture, alongside the biblical languages of Hebrew
and Greek, has long served as a cornerstone of theological formation and
intellectual inquiry within Christian academic tradition. At the University
of Malta, the formalisation and development of this field found a dedicated
home within the Faculty of Theology through the establishment of the
Department of Sacred Scripture, Hebrew and Greek. The history of this
Department is deeply intertwined with the shifting fortunes of religious
education on the island, shaped by ecclesiastical authority, colonial
influence, and post-conciliar renewal. Initially conceived within a broader
theological curriculum dominated by dogmatic and moral instruction,
the scriptural disciplines gradually acquired a more autonomous and
specialised identity. This transformation was facilitated by the emergence
of dedicated academic chairs, the contributions of key scholars, and the
progressive inclusion of lay students, especially in the post-Vatican II era.peer-reviewe
Design and performance evaluation of a green LED OFDM LiFi system for an electromagnetic interference sensitive hospital network
No full textLight Fidelity (LiFi) is an alternative technology to Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) for secure,
high-speed hospital communication. The main objective of this study is to design a
Four-Quadrature Amplitude Modulation-Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing
(4QAM-OFDM) LiFi system that overcomes electromagnetic interference (EMI),
ensures biological safety, guarantees secure medical data transmission, and delivers
high-speed, low-latency connectivity for hospital networks. The core contribution
is a holistic 4QAM-OFDM LiFi design that offers superior spectral efficiency,
significantly reduced Bit Error Rate (BER), and compliance with healthcare safety
standards compared to existing LiFi systems, as demonstrated by its simulation using
OptiSystem 21 and MATLAB R2024b. Using a 500 nm Light-Emitting Diode (LED)
compliant with photobiological safety standards safeguards biological safety, while
utilizing 1024-subcarrier OFDM decreases ISI. The receiver’s Positive-Intrinsic-Negative
(PIN) photodetector converts optical signals to electrical form, while the quadrature
demodulator minimizes phase distortion, achieving a BER of 4.25E-3 at 30 dBm—
further reducible to E-9 with error correction for reliable hospital communication. This
performance demonstrates the system’s suitability for mission-critical applications
such as AI-assisted diagnostics, robotic surgery, and real-time medical imaging.
The proposed system maintained excellent tolerance to both multipath distortion
and external EMI, resolving EMI-related device interference, improving energy
efficiency through reduced power consumption, and enhancing security via optical
confinement that prevents signal leakage beyond hospital rooms. This enables a
practical and scalable pathway for replacing WiFi in hospital environments, ensuring
uninterrupted, high-speed, and safe communication for both routine and life-critical
healthcare applications. The system reduces power consumption, diminishes CO₂
emissions, and improves hospital energy efficiency by promoting sustainable and
eco-friendly LiFi technology. This study confirms LiFi as a secure, high-performance
WiFi alternative for hospitals, meeting healthcare standards.peer-reviewe
Investigating earnings management within Maltese limited companies
No full textThis study aims (i) to assess the prevalence of Earnings Management among non-financial Maltese Listed Entities; (ii) to explore the underlying motivations and drivers that give rise to such practices; and (iii) to investigate the methods and techniques currently employed by the auditee or auditor to prevent or detect Earnings Management within Maltese Listed Entities. A sequential two-phase explanatory mixed-methods approach was employed: first, the accrual-based model was applied to assess the presence of Earnings Management, followed by 20 semi-structured interviews with Audit Partners and Chief Financial Officers. While Earnings Management sector-specific behaviours were observed, no statistically significant differences in the distribution of Earnings Management across sectors were found, suggesting overall consistency. Despite its presence, Earnings Management remains ambiguous, with diverse interpretations creating opportunities for exploitation. The principles-based nature of IFRS facilitates Earnings Management, allowing subjective judgment to serve managerial interests. Motivations for the practice include company-level capital pressures and contractual obligations, with auditors seen as key deterrents owing to their commitment to professional standards. While current preventative measures are effective, the study calls for stronger scrutiny of management and auditors. It also highlights opportunities for local regulatory bodies to enhance consistency and depth in their approach to addressing complex Earnings Management techniques. Lastly, External Auditors face challenges such as quality gaps between Big 4 and non-Big 4 firms, and client resistance during efforts to detect Earnings Management. The study has sought to understand the Earnings Management phenomenon within the Maltese context, given its negative implications on Financial Reporting.peer-reviewe
A landscape of the Anthropocene : an overview of agricultural terracing in Malta
No full textAgricultural terracing, the flattening of sloping land to improve
agricultural potential by the construction of walls and banks to
retain soil, represents one of the most fundamental ways in which
humans have shaped the planet. Vast swathes of land have been
terraced, with those of the Mediterranean basin prominent among
them. Terracing significantly increases agricultural production, and
has other benefits as well, such as limiting soil erosion and aiding
water retention. Despite this importance—which has both created
the conditions for the modern world, and will in turn be a
fundamental filter through which the impacts of future climate
change will be felt—terracing remains poorly understood. Much
remains unclear and debated, from when terracing began, to why
people terrace in the first place, to how its abandonment leads to
erosion and collapse. This paper is an overview of the terraced
landscape of the Maltese Islands, which, as one of the most
intensively terraced places in the world, with indications for both
early onset and multiple cycles of construction and decay, offers a
remarkable case study on the character and impacts of terracing.peer-reviewe
Shaping circular transitions in the built environment : from barriers to enablers. Springer tracts in civil engineering
No full textCircular Economy is a crucial factor in addressing sustainability. It is also on top of the agenda of the European Union and at a global scale. For Circular Economy to be successful in the construction industry, however, standardisation is a vital requirement. This document refers to an overview on the need for standardisation in Circular Economy. It further refers to national level standards and standardisation, together with a review of European and International level standards. To this effect, following a review of the state of the art in standardisation, key components were identified, and a questionnaire was designed and conducted across 19 countries with experts and practitioners in Circular Economy in Construction. The objective of the questionnaire was to assess and understand the level of implementation and standardization of Circular Economy across different countries. The assessment conducted was intended as a review of the perception of standards and their implementation across Europe by the participants of the survey as practitioners in Circular Economy. A review of standards in Circular Economy at a European and International level was carried out to define gaps to be addressed, together with opportunities in standardisation, to support Circularity in the Construction Industry. Case studies in implementation of standardisation are presented with respect to Deconstruction, Recycled Aggregate and Reuse of products.peer-reviewe